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645 Bancroft @ Dutton |
Coffee, Culture & Community™ 365 Days a Year |
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ArchivesApologies in advance if some links no longer work. They will remain listed as originally written unless a newer link to the same material can be found. 20062/27/06 - Farmer Jason Rocks the House
It was huge success and I hope we can have him back someday soon! Check out the photos here.
2/13/06 - Environmental Forum Sat, Feb 18th Just a quick reminder about the Environmental Forum at the Marina Community Center (directions). by the Friends of San Leandro Creek. Many people running for office this term will be there. Coffee compliments of Zocalo... See you there!
2/17/06 - Congrats to Julie of Torino Baking! Congratulatios to friend, regular, and fellow San Leandran Julie Durkee who won Grand Prize in the Food Network's Cake Relay Challenge and half of a $10,000 prize! The show will be on in May, check the Food Network's site! Julie is the proprietor of Torino Baking where she creates incredible cakes, Check her out! (I can't find a photo of the gorgeous cake she made for Zocalo, dang...) 2/13/06 Environmental Forum - 2/18, 10am, Marina Friends of San Leandro Creek are holding their annual Environmental Forum 10 to Noon, Saturday, February 18th at the Marina Community Center (directions). Hear from, and more importantly ask questions of, invited guests Congressperson Pete Stark, State Senator Liz Figueroa, State Assemblymember Johan Klehs (running for State Senator against former SL Mayor and former Assemblymember Ellen Corbett) Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker (running for re-election) and San Leandro Mayor Shelia Young (running for Alameda County Supervisor against encumbent Alice Lai Bitker, Glenda Nardine, and others). It's a busy political world out there isn't it. Come quiz them all before you decide whether to vote for them, and have some coffee compliments of Zocalo.
2/12/06 Strangers - Paintings by Raymond Wong Native Oaklander and fine arts student Raymond Wong is our featured artist from now until March 4th. His work is inspired by the likes of Goya and Hopper. I really like his stuff and think his figures are really expressive. There will be a closing reception for the artist on the last night of the showing, March 4th, from 7-9pm.
2/08/06
Sunday Hours - Open 8am - 4pm If you hadn't noticed, we've extended our Sunday hours since we re-opened. We're now staying open until 4pm on Sundays. So far it's working out really well and, if it keeps up, I may have to stay open even later! Come on by and see your friends and neighbors!
2/07/06 Chai - Now in Organic! We like our Chai on the more traditional side. Many placse make a Chai Latte that should be put in the milkshake category. Don't get me wrong, I like milkshakes that's why we have them at Zocalo, but that's not what I want when I order a Chai Latte. We get ours from Sun Chai in Santa Cruz and it has strong spices with a light sweetness provided by honey. I recently found they offer an organic version so I ordered up a sample to taste test and it's nearly identical. So, as of a few months ago, we switched! It costs a bit more, but the price on the menu will remain the same. They don't yet make the decaf available in organic, but when they do, we'll switch. 2/06/06 Live at Zocalo Feb 25, 2pm Legendary Nashville singer-songwriter and alt-country, cow-punk pioneer Jason Ringenberg will be performing as his alter-ego... famed children's entertainer Farmer Jason! He'll be performing for kids and parents alike (kids' music doesn't have to be irritating, Farmer Jason rocks, or, uh, whatever the Nashville equivalent is. There's is a $5 cover for the band. Yee Haw!
1/24/06 Wow, a Whole Month! Apologies for disappearing! I've had computer problems for nearly a full month, thanks to a little lemonade and an ill-timed elbow from a year and a half old. I'm finally properly up and running again and will be updating the site soon. 2005
12/20/05 Last Minute Gifts ...and a Special Deal on Travel Mugs Need something last minute, but hate getting something impersonal? Give the gift of coffee! You can buy locally, get organic, fair trade beans, and everyone ends up happy for the holidays! And, at a new holiday price, get them a Zocalo logo travel mug at only $12. These are stainless steel insulated 18oz cups with a single piece lid that seals completely and is simple to wash.
12/20/05 Great Coffee Press Don't know how I missed this one! US News & World Report had this article (link now fixed) on coffee, here are the head and subheadlines: Enjoy! They go on (and on) to quote Lona Sandon, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, as saying: "If its benefits continue to mount, coffee may come to be viewed as a health food." The article notes studies showing coffee may work as a mild antidepressent, help stave off type 2 diabetes, have more antioxidants than nearly anything else in our diets by a huge margin, reduce the chance of Parkinson's, gall stones, liver disease, cirrhosis, bladder cancer, and hypertension. I'll let you read it yourself... <http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/051219/19coffee.htm> They make the valid point that this is only the coffee. Use of half and half, sugar, etc. have their own risks. We've been told our coffee is so good black that some folks have stopped using them, try it and see for yourself! 12/20/05 Christmas, Awards, Beans & Press Open Christmas Day, 10am-2pm Don't leave town for your daily caffeine, come to Zocalo and wish your friends a Merry Christmas. With everyone visiting from out of town, you might run into whole families! Open 10am-2pm.
San Leandro Leadership Award Councilmember Bill Stephens was kind enough to award me the 2005 San Leandro Leadership Award for District 5. This was in recognition of my work with the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association as well as Zocalo Coffeehouse and it's benefit to the community. I'll put a link up once there's something to link to. Congratulations to my fellow honorees, especially Simone, and thanks to Bill Stephens and Connie, his fabulous wife, who presented the award. Holiday Blend: Mocca Java After many requests we've put together one of the most famous blends known, reputed to be the first blend of coffees ever, Mocca Java ($15/lb). Yemen Mocca comes from the homeland of coffee from centuries ago and it's combined with coffee grown from the Indonesian island of Java. You can't miss the chocolately undertones, it's very smooth, and perfect for a holiday get-together.
Parent's Press just did a write up on coffeehouses and the like that have kid's spaces. We were mentioned! The other two, PlayCafe and Tumble & Tea are more kid focused specifically. I've spoken with the other of Tumble & Tea and Zocalo was one of her inspirations!
12/04/05 Austrian Researchers at the Medial University at Innsbruck concluded what one could've guessed, caffeine improves short term memory and improves reaction time. Interestingly, the average consumption around the globe is about 75 milligrams, while the US's consumption is a whopping 240 milligrams... read what you want into that. 11/30/05 Two Simple Ways to Change the World We've got two ways for your to improve the world around you! Ok, so neither will bring world peace, but it's not as hard as world peace either. A single page, 5 minute survey and Christmas shopping is all it takes. Read on... A Homework Survey After experiencing the immense amounts of homework assigned to her kids over the years, My sister-in-law, Sara Bennett, is writing a book on the topic of homework and it's impact on kids and their families.. I'll let her speak for herself: We're gathering opinions from as many people as possible and have developed 3 surveys--one for parents, one for kids, and one for educators. If you have a school-aged kid who is too young to take the survey by her/himself, please just help. Please take the survey and ask everyone else you know to take it as well--friends, kids, teachers, principals, learning specialists, etc. If you're both a parent and an educator, take both surveys. If you host a website, an email discussion group, or a forum, please post a link to our survey. http://homeworksurvey.com She says it takes about 5 minutes and encourages full comments on your opinions. Calvin's only a year and a half, but I've seen the amount of homework some schools dish out and it's not always reasonable. This kind of book can make a difference to a lot of kids and their families, please chime in with your experience! Art Fundraiser -Dec 10 & 11 We're holding our 3rd annual Benefit Art Sale on December 10 and 11 to raise money for Building Futures with Women and Children, a San Leandro-based non-profit which provides emergency and support services to Alameda County’s battered women and children who are concurrently dealing with homelessness, substance abuse, or mental illness. We'll have local artists offering their works of photography, painting, glasswork, jewelry, pottery, and more. Help raise money for this invaluable resource and support the work they do, while being able to both support a local artists AND get some Christmas shopping done!
11/23/05 Open Thanksgiving, 8am-Noon Once again Zocalo is open on the upcoming holidays. We open Thanksgiving day from 8am to noon so you don't have to drive out of town to get your coffee! Get the visiting family out of the house, and get some coffee before the big traditional meal of eel, clams and dried berries.
11/22/05 Thank You Citizens of Zocalo! Wow, what a way to reopen! Not only was Halloween a huge success, but our first 3 weeks have been amazing! Thanks to all who have come back, we're overwhelmed! No, really! I'm hiring as fast as I can (email me for an application if you are seriously interested and have experience). With all the re-opening usual emergencies we've been bringing on new staff and trainging as fast as we can. I appreciate everyone's patience as we continue to fine tune the place and get up to speed. Tables are being rearranged, chair feet felt-tipped, plants potted. Feedback is always welcome (see the email link in the right column), but do understand that all is not set in stone as yet. There been absolutely no time to keep up! If you've emailed me and haven't heard back in a bit, please accept my apologies. New Beans We've got new beans for you to try out. We've got Jamaica Blue Mountain ($38/lb., half Peet's price) in stock. In addition, we have Boom & Zoom ($10.50/lb.). This blend was specifically created to give you outstanding flavor as well as a real boost of caffeine, it's been a hit in the shop. Pick up a pound and get a tasty pickup yourself! New Photos
What kind of an update would this be without new photos! Check out the lastest shots here. If you are on our email update list, you've likely already seen these.
11/01/05, Saturday We're Open! It's hard to believe we're up and running. We opened our doors for business on Halloween at 3:05! Click on the link above to see some fantastic photos taken by my good friend and artist Melissa Schneider (She also made our beautiful wood pastry case). It was down to the wire, but we did it and we're now up and running full tilt! Please come on by and bring friends! Check out the photos already! Thanks I send my thanks to all the volunteers (more than I can name at this late hour I'm afraid) who came to help us prepare the place. There was cleaning, moving, sanding, staining, and sealing of tables, and more moving, and moving, and so on...Ricki, Ethan, Ben, Lawrence and Sarah, Jessica & Ben, Jarred and Blake, Morgan, Chris, Jim, Margaret, I'm not going to remember everyone so I'll just stop while I'm ahead... That's not all of them, and that was only this weekend! I owe a debt of gratitude to my baristas Deborah, Anna, and Rachel. Without their dedication and professionalism we'd still be struggling to open, they make the machine work. Final work left us until Sunday evening to start moving into an entirely unfamiliar kitchen. When we opened our doors at 3:05pm Monday literally hundreds of people came through, it went so smoothly someone said it was like we'd never closed. I have a great staff. Thanks as well to my contractors, Chris and Hank of Aasand Construction. They and their talented crew made it was I wanted to see when I enter the doors of Zocalo and made it so well. Thanks to Charles and Sarah of Kahn Design, who picked up a stalled, unclear, hand-me down hopeful that was my renovation and brought it back to vigorous life, as was evidenced on Halloween! There are others, lists of them, but I'm too muddle headed to remember them all I'm afraid. And nothing I write here can express my thanks to Mitch, my wife.
10/29/05, Saturday Volunteers Welcome!
We're moving everything back in this weekend, and you are more than welcome to help! We should be down there just about whenever you are likely to show up. 10/22/05 Opening Soon... I've proven to be a most unreliable source as to the date when Zocalo will re-open. I appreciate everyone's patience, and hope you will all enjoy the new space. As of today, they are polishing the floor, wood staining may commence soon, following that are sealing the floor and wood, and lots of little things. So sorry for all these opening date changes. We simply miscalculated the space and the time it would take to accomplish all of this detailed woodwork. The good news is that it's coming out just as I'd hoped, it seems to be coming together well, and I think we'll be open soon!
10/10/05 October 22? After a conversation between me and my contractor this morning, we've decided trying to be open by the 15th is just not wise. We might able to do it in time, but it would mean a real rush and require us to sacrifice or postpone things to hit an arbitrary date. I'm dissappointed by this, but I think it's a wise choice for the long run. We now have the goal of opening the following weekend. Wish us luck, and I'll do my best to keep everyone informed during this hectic time.
10/7/05
Photos here. Ok, so even my architect thinks the 15th may be a bit optimistic, but I'm determined... You can take a look through the front windows, as we've now provided a peep hole in the paper. It's definitely going to be a close call. Safe Treats, Safe Sweets! If you haven't been to one of our Halloween events, you don't know what you are missing! Skipped last year due to Halloween falling on a Sunday when most of the shops around us are closed, it's back this year! That said, we need volunteers! There's candy to be handed out, photos to take, and decorations to put up! if you are interested!
09/17/05
It's been a long time coming (longer than expected of course), but the day is finally coming. Zocalo will be re-opening in just about 2 weeks time. Expect to see us coming and going a lot more very soon as we're moving things back in. I hope to have a good amount of time to get in there and arrange things. At some point you'll be hearing from me as to opportunities to volunteer if anyone out there is interested. I expect we'll start doing the majority of the move in just after the weekend of the 7th of October, so don't go running out of town! I've just posted the latest batch of photos of the renovation. These are nearly a week old as I was delayed. My PowerBook had a bout of lemonaid and while it's feeling better now, it was touch and go for a while. I'll be going by to take more today and tomorrow and get those posted soon I hope. You are, of course, welcome to take a peek yourselves! There are peep holes cut into the paper on the main two front doors of the shop. You can see quite a bit of what's going on from there. 09/17/05 Latest Photo Update on Renovation I'll be brief to get these up immediately. There's lots of progress and there are a ton of photos. Here's a preview:
At this point I expect we'll be re-opening sometime around the first week of October or so. I'm nervous about mentioning specific dates as there's no way to tell how long it's REALLY going to take, but... Don't forget to sign up for email updates to hear when new photos go up, and more...
09/3/05 We're Back Turns out our domain host, DirectNIC, houses their servers in downtown New Orleans. Who would've thought! Amazingly, they've got their servers still running with folks there holed up in a 30 story building keeping things running. Amazing. 08/23/05 The Final Flooring (New photos!) One last pass on the floors (see the latest photos!), pouring, smoothing, pouring, and a few items in the framing and electircal and things are moving along. We're finally past half way and it seems like it's been years! There's still another month or so to go. From here on it's counters, walls, lighting, and sheetrock. The bathrooms will be tiled and fixtures put in place and then it'll be time to move everything back in! Fortunately, I've found a new barista for one of the two open slots, if you know of someone looking for that kind of work, please let me know! You can download an application here!
08/11/05 Framing up the Back The latest photos of the renovation are up. The concrete's done in the JavaGym and bathrooms and framing is going up for the stockroom, bathrooms, and JavaGym office.
In the end, we moved one of the doors over 4 feet and had to replace a portion of the sewer pipe, but we gained a lot more storage space and indoor access to the stockroom!
08/07/05 Home Deliveries When we thought of doing home bean delivery during renovation, I knew it'd mean a lot of driving, but I didn't realize how fascinating visiting people in their own spaces would be. Most of the deliveries are to people's houses and each of them has been beautiful, unique, and surprising. From finally finding out who lives in that house with the cool brick wall around it, to never imagining that house has a spiral staircase as well as a central atrium! In some cases I deliver to someone's place of work. After the link is the workplace of one of my good friend's and regular customers... The Rotunda Building in Oakland. You'd never know this beautiful creation lurked behind it's fairly unremarkable facade. Click on the photo to see more pictures!
As of this morning we have the first half of the concrete floor in! Check out the photos here.
We should have the front half in on Friday or so, then we're on to the third dimensional items, not just the floor! 07/23/05 Mitch and I would like to express our very special thanks to those who were able to help us clear out Zocalo over the weekend of the 9th. Tom A., Tiyari, Margaret, Tom D., Aneas and friend, Ricki and Ethan, Charles, Anna, Chris, Donna, and Marlene. They were invaluable in getting the entire of Zocalo out of 645 Bancroft and into a 20'x10'x10' Mobile Mini. It was a lot of work, but these folks persevered and we done before we realized it. Thanks to you all. 07/12/05 Renovation Photos
They are original to the building which was built in 1938, or so, as Storm's Market. In fact, the Storm family still owns the building. While I'm sure the floors were state of the art in '38, they are falling apart today. 07/04/05 Open July 4th Free Renovation Survival Maunal
If you haven't already gotten one, we've got a Renovation Survival Manual for your reference which tells you how and where you can get our beans, where other locally owned, independent coffeeshops are, and includes a survey! 06/20/05 Open 8am to Noon, July 4th 06/20/05 Renovation Update Well, we're finally approaching a real start date. The plans, which you can find under the plexiglass on the long table, have been submitted for permits from the City of San Leandro and we're waiting for news. It should take a few weeks, and they may want a revision done, but we hope to get going in about a month or so. When we know a specific date, I can assure you we'll let you know. Coffee Beans Available Throughout Not to worry, we'll still be roasting through the renovation time, so beans will still be available. If you are local and usually get your beans at Zocalo, we can offer a few alternatives. Both Estudillo Produce, on MacArthur Avenue, and Blue Dish, on Victoria Circle, will be selling our beans. In fact, Estudillo Produce already is! You can get our organically grown, fair trade, shade grown, bird friendly Colombian there right now. If you get your beans delivered locally, there's no delivery change! 04/12/05 Whew! Tsunami Fundraiser Total Final funds raised for the Tsunami disasater relief was $1,832 including Zocalo's total revenue in whole as well as donations from the community and staff. Thank you to everyone who helped bring the aid to those affected by this disaster. Latte Da Closes On a more local note, Latte Da has closed their doors after many a year downtown. I'm sure having a Starbucks breathing down their necks didn't help and another being put into the Safeway isn't going to help anyone. It's sad to see local businesses close. Fewer and fewer grace the downtowns of our city and with them goes the distinct personalities, both people and places, as well as a loyalty to a location that no chain stores even feign an attempt to match. Wait until coffee prices spike, then watch 3 out of 5 of your local Starbucks close leaving empty storefronts and no local coffee seller. Mugs & Travel Mugs Before I forget, it's about time I let everyone know we have both black ceramic Zocalo mugs ($5) and vacuum sealed stainless steel Zocalo travel mugs ($18) available for sale. I'll try to get some decent photos up soon! I'll have to write more later, the boy awakes from his afternoon nap. 1/06/05 Coffee Berries!
Here's a photo of the more mature of the two that I took this morning, the berries of which are just about ripe! 1/04/05 Zocalo Donations Approach $1000 Featured in SF Chronicle
Combined donations from Zocalo and our generous patrons are nearing $1000. Everyone's generosity is wonderful and our thanks go to you all. In addition, the SF Chronicle has featured Zocalo Coffeehouse in a story on Bay Area donations. We're on the main page of SF Gate and the print edition, as well as a giant photo and more of the story on page A8 of the Tuesday, Jan 4th issue. 200412/30/04 All January 1st Revenues to Benefit Tsunami Victims In order to help, on January 1st Zocalo Coffeehouse is donating all revenue to Oxfam's Asia Earthquake Fund. We're open from 10am-2pm and hope to see you.
12/08/04 Music Friday & Open Christmas Day! As things get busier with the holidays, both at home
and at work, it's easy to get wrapped up in the details, the downsides,
the hard times. I'd just like to take the time to thank the many,
many people who are making Zocalo Coffeehouse what I'd hoped it
would be. People are kind enough to give me the credit, but I only
do a portion of the work.
2004
Zocalo Holiday Blend Open Christmas and New Years Day Need to get away from all that wonderful family, or maybe get them out of your house? Zocalo is your living room away from home. The free wireless and a latte are just the thing to temp your brother-in-law off the couch. 11/24/04 Yes, we're open Thanksgiving Dat from 8am to Noon, so you needn't got without your morning Zocalo boost. We'll be open Friday from our usual 6am to 9pm with our regular Open Mic occuring Friday evening at 7:30pm. Hope to see you at the shop! 11/19/04 High Country Live Tonight! Come see the best bluegrass band in N. California live and upclose tonight at Zocalo! They kick off at 7:30, but come a bit early to get a good seat! Benefit Art Sale, Dec 11 & 12 Zocalo Coffeehouse and Roscoe Glass Art are holding our Second Annual Benefit Art Sale. We're raising money for Building Futures with Women and Children. Not only is it a worthy cause, but you may have read that just this past week they had a terrible fire and many of the buildings they use will need to be rebuilt. Local
artisan glasswork, pottery, jewelry, and photos! Sat,
Dec. 11, 10am-4pm 11/08/04 High Country, Greenbox, and Drey Elizabeth Music, music, and more music! We've booked more Friday nights than ever before, bringing you live music at Zocalo from now until January. See the list to the right for the whole rundown and the details. Don't miss this fantastic line up, right here in San Leandro! New Stuff: Just in Time for Christmas We're still getting some of it in, but we've got a whole range of new stuff just in time to get Christmas presents! We've got French Presses, tea steepers, and coming soon we'll have new mugs and travel mugs printed with the Zocalo logo (these will take a little while still, so don't finish your shopping too early!) Don't forget, coffee is just about the perfect Holiday gift, it's warm, yummy, smells great, wonderful to share, and you know it's good! Zocalo Holiday Blend And, this just in, Mitch is just finishing up the 2004 Zocalo Holiday Blend! Last year's blend was so good we turned it into our House Blend, and this years blend is very promising.
Live at Zocalo Coffeehouse, this indie pop singer & songwriter is amazing. She stacks up against anything you've heard on the radio, but you don't have to believe me, you can check it out her music for yourself! Halloween Alas, this year the Safe Treats, Safe Sweets event has been cancelled. Halloween falls on a Sunday and most all the businesses at Bancoft & Dutton are closed at that time on Sunday. We'll be back next year and in the meantime we encourage you to attend the Pelton Center Halloween Event, from 9am-6pm Sunday, October 31st. Voting Don't forget, this Tuesday is the day. I don't care how you vote, as long as you are informed and voting! Afraid of the electronic machines? You have the right to a paper ballot on request... Get out there and do it!
10/03/04 Ah, how I miss the turning leaves of fall. We've got them out here on the west coast, but it's just not the same as the hills of Pennsylvania.
On other topics, we had a great time with High Country, the bluegrass band and a great crowd turned out. No photos this time as the lighting wasn't great, but they'll be back. Coming up this Friday night, October 15th at 7pm is singer/songwriter Carmit Bat-Shalom. The Contra Costa JCC said about Carmit, "The energy that emanates from Carmit and her instruments is incredible. She infuses music, rhythm and spirit into every camp day" Some of you may know her from her volunteer music teaching in San Leandro at Bancroft (as I recall, that was pre-parent times for me). Other Stuff Some folks recently asked if we sell our beans mail order, and the answer is yes! We're currently in need of a web designer on hand so the site has been a bit inactive aside from my infrequent updates. If you are a good web designer/implementer and love coffee, let me know, I'm looking for the right person to help. But, back to online bean sales, currently, we simply do it all by email. Until we get the site up to par, you'll have to email me for a PDF list of our beans. Shipping is essentially the cost of the cheapest way we can get it to you (which happens to be just what Peet's charges...) Thanks My fine friends at BareBones Software were kind enough to include us in their thanks with the release of their latest version of BBEdit. They drink our coffee regularly (and buy it mail order...). If you've not heard of it, BBEdit is text editor of the gods. I mean it, people switch to Mac for this piece of software alone. The application even has it's own slogan, and it's taken on a aura of brilliance over the years, as software becomes more and more rediculously bad... "It doesn't suck. And with that I bid you farewell until the next update. See you at the shop.
09/19/04 Lots of Music and Events Coming! We've got a ton of events coming up with lots of live music. Fridays are the night of the week (with one Saturday evening). See the list on the right for what's coming up... Unfortunately, Angelo Luster had to cancel his October 16th date with us. 09/03/04 - Music & Open Labor Day Greenbox, local accoustic alternative/rock group, plays tonight at 7pm at Zocalo! Real music, right here in San Leandro! Sign up for our email notices to receive notice of these events in email! And, not to worry! We're Open Labor Day from 8am to noon! 08/16/04 Music High Country, the bluegrass band we had back in June (see the photos just below) will be back on August 20th! These folks rocked the house and the packed house loved it! I've had dozens of requests to return and the band has been asking to be back, so here we go! There will be a $5 donation requested at the door, however children under 12 years old will get in for free. (And don't forget, we have Open Mic nights every 2nd & 4th Fridays.) Beans We've got a small slate of new beans for you to check out... Organically
Grown and Fair Trade Ethiopian Yirga Chefé is replacement for our previous Ethiopian is a step up in flavor and
comes with the benefits of beingorganically grown and a fair trade
bean as well. You can taste the difference and this bean benefits
the grower as well by paying them a fair price as well as allowing
them to work in a pesticide free environment. New Smoothie By the time you read this, we'll have iintroduced our new Green Tea Smoothie! Just as good as our Kona Mocha smoothie, but for those who love the taste of green tea, or may want to avoid the caffeine. Come on in and try one! Renovation Finally, an update on the renovation of Zocalo Coffeehouse... We've postponed the work until after the new year. It became clear that we were looking at pushing it into the fall and that wasn't acceptable, so we've put it off for the moment. If you know of, or are part of, a local company that may provide services we need in the renovation of Zocalo, and might perhaps be willing to offer a "good neighbor" discount, please let me know. We'll be creating new counters, bench seating, wainscoting on the walls, polished concrete floors with radiant in-floor heating, and more. You can email me at . That's it for now, see you at the shop! Tim Oh yes, here's one of Calvin...
So, sure enough, we’ll be open July 4th and 5th from 8am to 2pm. Come on by for some coffee before your BBQ! The excitement never stops at Zocalo Coffeehouse! Here are some photos of High Country, a fantastic bluegrass band that played at Zocalo recently. We'll definitely be having these guys back!
05/20/04 High Country, the West Coast's premier traditional bluegrass band, will be playing at Zocalo on June 5th! This is exciting stuff! You can read more about the band at the link from their name. This band has been around for over 30 years and was founded by one of the professional bluegrass players in Northern California, Butch Waller. This sextet should really knock your socks off! "High Country manages to be fresh and exciting without even the merest nod to modern music." -BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED
05/18/04 The big news is the birth of our first child, Calvin Gabriel Olmstead Holmes on May 6th. He was born at 4:30 in the morning and weighed in at 8lbs. and 15oz.
I'll save you the bandwith of going on about how wonderful he is and simply allow you to peruse his photos. He's a sweetheart.
Needless to say, this has both Mitch and me quite sleep deprived. My mom and dad are in town to help keep us sane. We have about 30 nicknames for Calvin already, from "Popeye" and "Lumpy" to "Squeaky" and just plain old "boy." We've been concentrating on the baby, and a bit on Zocalo, while my mom has gone crazy around the house cleaning, including the entire back yard, and hangs out at the shop some afternoons. Meanwhile Dad's been fixing things, replacing things, drinking lots of coffee and getting in bicycle rides as often as he can. You'll be seeing more of him in the future, like the next 18 years or so. Poor kid's probably going to have to work for his old man one day, what a drag... Enjoy the photos! 04/11/04 New Summer Hours As we wind down for the warm summer months and people head off for their vacations, Zocalo will be going to our new Summer hours. The only changes are that we'll be closing at 6pm on Friday and Saturday evenings. Now don't worry, we'll still be open every second and fourth Friday of the month for Open Mic nights, and look for upcoming live music events as well! 04/07/04 Zocalo Needs You As you may have heard, Zocalo will be undergoing some renovation this summer. We're replacing everything! Plans are well underway and it's time to reach out to all of you for assistance! We've got a lot of work to do and it's going to be expensive, but I think the end result will be well worth it! If any of you can provide, or have access to, materials and work for this kind of thing at some significant discount, please let me know! We need concrete work (new floors with radiant heating!), wood, granite, and just about anything else you can imagine! The Card of the Beast
Whether you just don't have cash on you, or purchase beans by Home Delivery, this may make things a bit easier for you. You should know, however, that the least expensive way to buy things continues to be cash. For all other payments then business owner pays some sort of fee. (Cash is followed by checks, followed by a credit cards, and even then there are levels of cost. AmEx is more expensive than Mastercard and VISA and checkcards are REALLY expensive...) Sugar Free Items It's also worth noting that we now carry Splenda, a sugar substitute, and Torani's Splenda based Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup.
Well, there's plenty of updates, but as usual, no time. I'll just briefly touch on a few items of particular importance... We were in the Daily Review again! Twice actually! Here's the big one though, the front page! It was a piece on the student art that has been up in the shop this month by the San Leandro High School AP art class. Audrey Brown, the art teacher of the AP students is really the one to get all the credit, but I'm happy to be mentioned 5 or 6 times! The paper edition had a large color photo on the front page and a b&w photo on page 5 where the article continued. The students' art is only up until Sunday, April 4th, so don't miss it! Live Entertainment Permit The even bigger news is that Zocalo Coffeehouse has gotten it's permits for Conditional Use Permit for live music! This means we can have bands and music nights. Up until now we've been limited to Open Mic evenings, these didn't focus on a particular artist, weren't heavily advertised, and weren't really focused on music. It's lucky enough to have news like being in the Daily Review, and then to topit with getting a live music permit, but I have two more items that each even bigger news that those! Zocalo 2.0 Later this Year First, Zocalo Coffeehouse is going to go under a remodeling this summer! As a condition of signing a new lease with the owner we agreed to allow him to replace the floors. They need it, but we asked to have it put off for a bit. Well, the time is upon us this summer to bite the bullet. But why let such anopportunity pass, since the floors, and therefore the counters, will be removed anyway, we're remodeling the place at the same time! Unfortunately this means closing for a month or so. We aren't sure of the dates exactly yet, but I'll update you all when I know more! Wish us luck! TiMitch 2.0 And lastly, to top all of that off, and make life that much more hectic these days, and, well, for the rest of my life I suppose, my wife and I are expecting our first child in about 6 weeks or so. Hope you enjoy the Daily Review article, and don't forget... the art is only up for another week or so!
Nice to be Appreciated I recently ran into a nice write up on Zocalo by a local blogger. A good quote... "Zocalo is this great cafe that we have in San Leandro, one of the things that make San Leandro a great place to live."
New Bean News New Beans and new bean news... First off, we've got new beans in the house! First up is a new decaf. Decafs often get short shrift in many coffee shops, but we understand that not everyone can have caffeine at all hours. Our new Ethiopian Yirga Chefé Decaf ($12/lb.) is a very high quality, tasty Ethiopian with a tangy citrus taste and wonderful floral overtones resulting in a nice lingering floral aftertaste. For a short time we're featuring a really good Costa Rican ($10.50/lb.). This has a very full bodied taste with hints of chocolate and a slightly smoky flavor. We still
have Jamaica Blue Mountain ($38/lb.) and will for
a little while now, so don't miss the best bargain around for this
world-famous bean! The price may seem high, but we're charging less
than half what many of the big chains are!
One Year! It's official, Zocalo Coffeehouse is one year old . And we've been open all 365 of them, no kidding! In thanks to our many regulars all coffee drinks were only one dollar, from the small coffee to the fanciest latte, all day. Please know that I appreciate your patronage and the life you bring to the coffeehouse. I also want to thank the Zocalo Coffeehouse staff: Rachel, Marlene, Lenell, Jennifer, Cassi, Valerie, Deborah, Jake, and or newest member, Anna. My thanks go to them for their hard work and energy and their dedication to Zocalo. It's truly appreciated.
Good news coffee drinkers! This just in from the Harvard School of Public Health: Long-Term Coffee Consumption Linked to Reduced Risk for Type 2 Diabetes The choice snippet: "...participants who regularly drank coffee significantly reduced the risk of onset of type 2 diabetes, compared to non-coffee drinking participants. "
Welcome to the New Year! It's the new year, which means the first anniversary of Zocalo Coffeehouse! This January 14th to be exact. We won't be holding a party that day, but the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce has been so kind as to organize an event for the end of February! Keep the Thursday, February the 26th open in the evening. I'll get more information soon! In other news, we're gaining a few new employees, but, alas, losing one as well. Deborah is going to be moving to Santa Cruz for school until at least August. We'll miss her greatly, but there's always a place for her at Zocalo. New employees include Jake, the only male barista we have nowadays aside from myself. He started just before the new year and has just begun regular shifts. Say hi to Jake when you see him, he's also my only geek employee, being even more computer knowledgeable than me, though, alas, on the dark side. 200312/23/03 Open Christmas and New Year's Day! From 10am to 2pm on the 25th and we'll be hanging out and serving it up. Get away from the mess and squall that is Christmas in America today and escape to Zocalo for a wake-up latte or a cup of tea. It's bound to be quieter than your living room! We're open New Year's Day too, from 8am to 6pm. All the News that's Fit to Print The Daily Review and Oakland Tribune (both ANG papers) did a profile of Zocalo Coffeehouse a couple of weeks back in the local section. Here are links to the article. Unfortunately neither of them have the photos that were run, 4 of them in the Review! The Oakland Tribune: Couple Creates Coffee Community The Daily Review: Striving for a Sense of Community (UPDATE: These papers feel one should pay $2.50 to read their archived articles, so I cannot link to it. This is unfortunate and quite stupid. I'll try to get a copy of the article to post here on the site, in the meantime just think of it as a really nice puff piece.) Just a week earlier the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce presented Zocalo with the Rookie of the Year award. Pretty cool! I've had a ton of people come up and congratulate us, more than ever thought would have even heard about it!
Web site Redesign! In case you hadn't noticed, Chris (brother and webmaster) and I have reworked the main pge of the Zocalo Coffeehouse web site! The new format will allow me to provide ongoing updates on what's new! We hope you like it, and feedback is certainly welcome, just email me! Thanksgiving Day a Big Success There were certainly doubters among us wondering whether it would be worth staying open, even with reduced hours, on Thanksgiving Day, but Deborah was willing, as was I, and we were very pleasantly surprised! We had a great day on Thanksgiving, despite (or perhaps because) being open only 8am to noon. Thanks to the many of you who showed up and hung out with us! No More Foam Cups! We've just received the paper cups I've been working toward for what seems like forever. We'll be swapping over to them this weekend, as soon as we run out of any one size of cup (which will be the 16oz) and that should be sometime today.
Open Thanksgiving Day! We'll be open Thanksgiving Day, November 27 from 8am to Noon! Get out of the house! Run away from the family! Get on down to Zocalo and get some caffeine before the big meal! Really, going to Zocalo counts as a walk (if you have to drive, just park a few blocks away)! Paper Cups on the Way We're finally going to get our new paper cups! It's been forever, since I knew I wanted to change from the current foam cups to paper cups even before I bought the place. Just this year there are two new products that have come out that fit the bill for what I want. I'm not a fan of the sleeves. They're just more work and if I get printed cups, which I had wanted, they would block the printing, but bare paper cups aren't enough! Finally, a few new cups on the market are all paper, but are still insulated. I've settled on the KX-2 from International Paper. It's got a great feel, it's sturdier than the foam ones currently used at Zocalo, and should be able to be put into the green waste. It is, of course, more expensive. Alas, I just can't get printed cups in small enough quantities, so, for the time being, we'll have to live without my logo on everyone's cups. New Pastries from Raison d'Etre If you
hadn't heard, we've just switched to a new pastry maker. This new
company delivers to us fresh every day from San Francisco. They
used to be known as Scones, if you've heard of them, and they do
make a delicious scone. They offer a higher quality offering than
our former pastry maker. They have some savory ham and cheese and
rosemary mushroom muffins. In addition, they offer several low-fat
and non-fat options, using non-hydrogenated oils! |
Yee Haw! 
07/11/05
As many of you know, we're closing on the 9th of July to begin our renovation. We'll keep you posted here on our progress and remember, we're still roasting throughout the down time, so you can still get our beans. 
Sorry it's
taken so long to get this news up on the site, but as you can imagine,
I've had other priorities. 
It's
official, we now accept the card of the beast! In case you hadn't
seen the sign on the door, or near the register, we now accept VISA
and Mastercard at Zocalo.