Java Is Hotter in East County
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Aug. 5, 2001
Out among the sun-scorched foothills of East Contra Costa, bitter-tasting coffee has been an early morning hallmark since the first farmhouse was built.
Now, the highbrow coffee culture that helped define the suburban landscape is starting to percolate into the agricultural heartland.
Mochas now swirl here like the fierce winds that whip the surface of the Delta.
Farmers are being spotted with soy milk mustaches. Construction workers in Pittsburg have been overheard ordering -- gasp -- sprinkles over their steaming lattes.
While some East County residents may have grown up spooning instant java from a jar, they now wander the streets with Starbucks in their eyes.
The coffee renaissance is part of the region's explosive growth and mutating demographic, with the new a stark contrast to the old.
In short, it's led to an unquenchable thirst for a quality cup of joe.
"I'm a serious coffee drinker 'bout four cups a day," said a sunburned and tattooed Len Weaver, pouring himself a mug at Lone Tree Cafe in Antioch. "I started coming in here once they started serving this," he said, pointing to the Tully's Coffee promotional display.
Indeed, many East County residents are no longer satisfied with a watery cup of diner brew. In Antioch, the drive-through Starbucks on Lone Tree Way is already the company's No. 1 seller in Northern California, said East Bay regional director Gerry Argue.
The store, which opened in 1997, holds a cult-like following among the scores of at-home mothers who drop by for an afternoon buzz.
"We've been coming here for two years, every Wednesday," said Heather Schmidt, sitting under a green canopy with her friends, Laura Lescure and Desiree Chong. "I always order the same thing an iced vanilla nonfat grande latte. You got it, girl!"
Nearly 600 Frappuccinos are blended daily at the shop, Argue said, by far the highest volume of its kind in the Bay Area.
Nonetheless, there are still not enough coffeehouses in the area to fuel the tens of thousands of caffeine-starved commuters.
Starbucks is eyeing several other potential locations along the Highway 4 corridor between Pittsburg and Discovery Bay.
Meanwhile, other gourmet coffee companies and fledgling independents are brewing up strategies to hook part of this growing market.
Panama Bay Coffee Co., an independent chain that opened its first shop in Livermore in 1998, will make its Antioch debut later this month at Hillcrest Crossroads center.
Rivertown Coffee & Tea is expected to open Aug. 10 on Second Street, behind City Hall, in a building that used to house a seedy blues tavern.
Owners Amy Werntz and her husband, Scott, hope to lure city employees and police officers, many of whom fetch their drinks from Starbucks.
"People at City Hall are asking us all the time when we're going to open," said Werntz, who moved to Antioch from Concord about 18 months ago. "I told them we'd be doing deliveries."
Around the corner at the Nifty As Is thrift store, manager Donna White is excited about espresso machines moving into the neglected neighborhood.
"My helper's son brought us mochas today I don't even know where he got them," she said.
Not long ago, many people would buy those same beverages in Walnut Creek or Concord, watching them cool during the 20-minute journey back over the mountain.
Now, they don't have to venture into latte-land for their morning fixes.
Caffino, a drive-through Bay Area coffee chain, opened along Highway 4 in Oakley several years ago.
It has become a wildly popular roadside beacon for scores of bleary-eyed motorists crawling along Highway 4.
More than 400 customers pass through the booth each weekday, demanding white chocolate mochas and Caffino frescos. A few miles down Highway 4, past a steady lineup of scrap metal shops and used car dealers, images from the latte revolution mysteriously appear in strip malls.
Even Giant Donuts in Oakley wants a piece of the coffee movement. Its storefront windows are littered with java-related blather: "Espresso, Mocha, Cappuccino!"
Inside, they serve Irish cream, hazelnut and vanilla cream coffees from polished pumps.
"But people still like the regular stuff," a store manager said, pointing to a stained urn near the front counter.
In Pittsburg, Josefa Smith opened Railroad Expresso five years ago to a barren coffee landscape. Learning the extensive java menu has been, well, challenging for some customers.
"People come in here and have no idea what they want," said Smith, chuckling. "They order double espressos, and I ask, Do you know what you're ordering?'"
"They come in next time and tell me they couldn't sleep or couldn't stop working."
So the owner politely offers to help them. And she leans over the counter to offer a bit of key advice: "This isn't McDonald's coffee."
Contra Costa Newspapers
Aug. 5, 2001
Out among the sun-scorched foothills of East Contra Costa, bitter-tasting coffee has been an early morning hallmark since the first farmhouse was built.
Now, the highbrow coffee culture that helped define the suburban landscape is starting to percolate into the agricultural heartland.
Mochas now swirl here like the fierce winds that whip the surface of the Delta.
Farmers are being spotted with soy milk mustaches. Construction workers in Pittsburg have been overheard ordering -- gasp -- sprinkles over their steaming lattes.
While some East County residents may have grown up spooning instant java from a jar, they now wander the streets with Starbucks in their eyes.
The coffee renaissance is part of the region's explosive growth and mutating demographic, with the new a stark contrast to the old.
In short, it's led to an unquenchable thirst for a quality cup of joe.
"I'm a serious coffee drinker 'bout four cups a day," said a sunburned and tattooed Len Weaver, pouring himself a mug at Lone Tree Cafe in Antioch. "I started coming in here once they started serving this," he said, pointing to the Tully's Coffee promotional display.
Indeed, many East County residents are no longer satisfied with a watery cup of diner brew. In Antioch, the drive-through Starbucks on Lone Tree Way is already the company's No. 1 seller in Northern California, said East Bay regional director Gerry Argue.
The store, which opened in 1997, holds a cult-like following among the scores of at-home mothers who drop by for an afternoon buzz.
"We've been coming here for two years, every Wednesday," said Heather Schmidt, sitting under a green canopy with her friends, Laura Lescure and Desiree Chong. "I always order the same thing an iced vanilla nonfat grande latte. You got it, girl!"
Nearly 600 Frappuccinos are blended daily at the shop, Argue said, by far the highest volume of its kind in the Bay Area.
Nonetheless, there are still not enough coffeehouses in the area to fuel the tens of thousands of caffeine-starved commuters.
Starbucks is eyeing several other potential locations along the Highway 4 corridor between Pittsburg and Discovery Bay.
Meanwhile, other gourmet coffee companies and fledgling independents are brewing up strategies to hook part of this growing market.
Panama Bay Coffee Co., an independent chain that opened its first shop in Livermore in 1998, will make its Antioch debut later this month at Hillcrest Crossroads center.
Rivertown Coffee & Tea is expected to open Aug. 10 on Second Street, behind City Hall, in a building that used to house a seedy blues tavern.
Owners Amy Werntz and her husband, Scott, hope to lure city employees and police officers, many of whom fetch their drinks from Starbucks.
"People at City Hall are asking us all the time when we're going to open," said Werntz, who moved to Antioch from Concord about 18 months ago. "I told them we'd be doing deliveries."
Around the corner at the Nifty As Is thrift store, manager Donna White is excited about espresso machines moving into the neglected neighborhood.
"My helper's son brought us mochas today I don't even know where he got them," she said.
Not long ago, many people would buy those same beverages in Walnut Creek or Concord, watching them cool during the 20-minute journey back over the mountain.
Now, they don't have to venture into latte-land for their morning fixes.
Caffino, a drive-through Bay Area coffee chain, opened along Highway 4 in Oakley several years ago.
It has become a wildly popular roadside beacon for scores of bleary-eyed motorists crawling along Highway 4.
More than 400 customers pass through the booth each weekday, demanding white chocolate mochas and Caffino frescos. A few miles down Highway 4, past a steady lineup of scrap metal shops and used car dealers, images from the latte revolution mysteriously appear in strip malls.
Even Giant Donuts in Oakley wants a piece of the coffee movement. Its storefront windows are littered with java-related blather: "Espresso, Mocha, Cappuccino!"
Inside, they serve Irish cream, hazelnut and vanilla cream coffees from polished pumps.
"But people still like the regular stuff," a store manager said, pointing to a stained urn near the front counter.
In Pittsburg, Josefa Smith opened Railroad Expresso five years ago to a barren coffee landscape. Learning the extensive java menu has been, well, challenging for some customers.
"People come in here and have no idea what they want," said Smith, chuckling. "They order double espressos, and I ask, Do you know what you're ordering?'"
"They come in next time and tell me they couldn't sleep or couldn't stop working."
So the owner politely offers to help them. And she leans over the counter to offer a bit of key advice: "This isn't McDonald's coffee."
posted by Corey at 2:17 PM
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