Two new sibling bars are opening in far south Austin sometime this year. There’s cafe and cocktail bar Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and sports bar and pickleball court destination the Pickle Pub, found at 10630 Menchaca Road starting in early 2024.
Drifters is meant to work as a daytime cafe and out-of-the-home working space with coffee and Wi-Fi and then a nighttime cocktail bar with drinks. Clayton Jones, who had most recently worked at Rainey Street cocktail bar the Tipsy Alchemist, created the menu.
And then, Pickle Pub works more as a sports bar. There will be a bunch of tapped beers from Central Texas breweries. And then outside, there are two pickleball courts (hence the name).
The pickleball court at Pickle Pub.The Pickle Pub
Drifters, found in Building A, and Pickle Pub, in Building B, will share the large outdoor courtyard. Outside, there will be a big LED television for Pickle Pub’s sportness, as well as a dog park, picnic benches, and fire pits. There are plans to host live music shows on the stage too. Both bars will be kid-friendly until 6 p.m. on weekdays.
The Drifters/Pickle courtyard will include two food trucks too. There’s Italian sandwich truck I Panini, with paninis, fries, and mozzarella sticks. And then there’s and the Shrimp Boi.
South ATX Hospitality is behind the two bars, led by managing members Jason Hart and Beezer Khambati. The company, which started in 2015, also oversees a bunch of Austin and San Antonio bars: Austin sports bar Play on West 6th, downtown’s Reset Arcade Bar, temporarily closed San Antonio bar Home Room, and San Antonio sports bar Box 903.
Drifters and Pickle Pub are found along the stretch of Menchaca Road with a lot of bars and cafes, such as South Austin Beer Garden, Lustre Pearl South, Lulu’s, the Hive, Armadillo Den, and Moontower Saloon.
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January 24, 2024 at 01:25AM
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A New Cafe, Cocktail Bar, Sports Pub, and Pickleball Destination Is Opening in Far South Austin - Eater Austin
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Mmm … cardamom. As Nosh mentioned last week, new chai-focused cafe Elaichi (another word for cardamom, as the spice is often used to flavor chai) has opened near UC Berkeley’s main campus, and picked the perfect weather (cold, rainy) for its debut. The new cafe crafts steaming cups of karak and oat chai, as well as coffee drinks and baked treats such as cardamom buns. Elaichi Co., 2161 Allston Way., Suite C. (at Oxford Street), Berkeley
The food pics alone do much of the talking on newcomer Shawarma Time M&S’s website, showing off the eatery’s appealing array of shawarma and falafel wraps, plates and Mediterranean salads, dips and sides on offer in the Maxwell Park neighborhood of Oakland. Area residents are delighted Shawarma Time has reanimated the former Pinches Tacos space. The “M” and “S” in the name stand for Manea Al Huri and Saleh Binahmed, the eatery’s owners. Shawarma Time M&S, 3100 High St. (at Virginia Avenue), Oakland
Woman-owned Sweet Bites has opened at the base of the Elegance assisted living facility in Berkeley, featuring decadent cakes, desserts, coffee drinks, brunch dishes and other cafe-style treats. Customizable full-sized cakes are also available. Sweet Bites Bakery & Brunch, 2100 San Pablo Ave. (at Addison Street), Berkeley
After a quick remodel on Solano Ave., Bangkok Jam has reopened with a new look and a new name. The remodel of the 14-year-old, woman-owned eatery includes a fresh mural, updated light fixtures, and some menu tweaks, though Bangkok Jam fans might find their favorites remain. We look forward to reports and thank the Solano Avenue Association for the opening alert. Tha Siam Thai Bistro, 1892 Solano Ave. (near The Alameda), Berkeley
Alameda has a new dessert shop for cookies, pies, quickbreads, party platters and other Treats by Mrs. T. The pandemic-born cottage business from Alameda native Sarah Tilson and her husband Justin Tilson now has its own brick-and-mortar location. Think brown-butter Rice Krispies treats with caramelized marshmallows and sea salt, snickerdoodles, rich brownies and seasonal shortbreads. As a bonus, and casting an eye toward certain upcoming dates, Nosh would like to add that Treats by Mrs. T shares space with floral artist Francesca Ricci’s floral boutique. Nosh wonders why this idea hasn’t caught on sooner. Treats by Mrs. T(andFrancesca Ricci Floral Art), 1311 Park St. (at Encinal Avenue), Alameda
The delayed and much anticipated new Connecticut cafe opened two weeks ago and already the cozy space is getting repeat customers, said delighted owner Jill Interlandi.
“People seem to be liking the space,” said Interlandi who poured her heart into creating the ambiance in Hartford’s DoNo Cafe. “I had a specific vision of what I wanted to create.”
That vision was for a gathering place people would like to visit if they’re having a great day or a bad day, she said. DoNo stands for Downtown North.
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows a family photo on the wallpaper she made that has a mixture of historic Hartford photos, past newspaper and family photos at the cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
“It’s probably one of the most rewarding things,” to see people gather,” Interlandi said. “I love the people.”
“The shops that have recently opened up in the city serve much more than just coffee and tea,” he said. “They serve as meeting places for the community to come together and share ideas, concerns and hopes for Hartford. DoNo is another example of an incredible location that will serve as another living room for Hartford residents and visitors.”
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows a wallpaper she made with a mixture of historic Hartford photos, past newspaper and family photos at her cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi at her new cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi at her new cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows a drawing of the Connecticut State Capitol in the dining area of the cafe on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows the furniture inside her cafe in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows the furniture inside her cafe in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows a family photo on the wallpaper she made that has a mixture of historic Hartford photos, past newspaper and family photos at the cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Wallpaper hangs inside the DoNo Café, with a mixture of historic Hartford photos, past newspaper and family photos at Jill Interlandi cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Dennis Phillips, makes a hot chocolate at the DoNo Café in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. The cafe is located inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
A repurposed Hartford Courant crate that was turned into a coffee table inside the DoNo Café in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi shows a Hartford Courant belt buckle that she found on Facebook Marketplace; she has plans to turn the buckle into part of the decor inside her cafe in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Interlandi, who grew up in Danbury, and worked for many years as a bartender originally came to Hartford to attend nursing school at a time when everything was going remote during the pandemic.
She decided then that she wanted to go back into a business that brought people together, away from isolation and loneliness.
When she saw the empty storefront at The Pennant apartments, it spoke to her.
The area in what Interlandi calls her, “beautiful blank space,” had ceilings that were about 14 feet high and brought down to 12 feet with a drop ceiling.
The 1,600 square-foot space is opposite Dunkin’ Park, which she viewed as a good source of business during season. Dunkin’ Park is home of the Hartford Yard Goats. When there are events held she will stay open later.
The cafe carries all kinds of coffee drinks, hot chocolate and muffins, donuts, bagel, chocolate chip cookies and croissants fresh every day from a bakery in Queens.
They are adding smoothies and protein options to the menu.
Sometime in February, she will add breakfast sandwiches to the menu, but is still perfecting that menu and wants to make sure that offering can be delivered consistent in quality, Interlander said.
“I want to do it my way. Have everything made fresh,” she said.
She envisions fresh eggs, egg whites, custom smoked bacon, fresh avocado, cheeses and special sauce.
She said their house blend coffee “is something everyone can enjoy.”
DoNo Café owner Jill Interlandi at her new cafe inside The Pennant near Dunkin’ Park Stadium in Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
The decor includes, a rustic look with two accent walls, one solid brick and the other of wallpaper she had custom made. The wallpaper is of a collage she put together of old photographs of Hartford, Hartford Courant newspapers going back to 1891 and family photos.
One of the photographs is of her maternal grandfather picking coffee beans in Puerto Rico, something he did for fun, along with roasting them, she said.
“Coffee runs in my blood,” she said, noting that on her mom’s side coffee always meant “gathering” and “happiness.”
Included in the photos of one of her beloved dad that’s “special.” He died during the cafe project.
“It’s been bitter sweet,” she said.
Reviews on line show that interlandi’s thoughtfully designed space is resonating with guests.
One reviewer wrote: “Absolutely amazing coffee shop! Stopped in this morning for a quick cup of coffee and was blown away by how great this place was. The staff was on point and they had a great variety of drinks to choose from. Highly recommended!”
Another wrote: “Great vibe, and Environment…”
Another review calls the interior of the cafe, “absolutely beautiful.”
“I got a latte and my daughter got a hot chocolate. Both were so delicious!! We enjoyed relaxing in the cozy sitting areas. Everyone was so friendly and inviting. We look forward to going back soon! Definitely our new favorite spot!” the review states.
A true believer in the potential for Hartford’s growth, Interlandi said she doesn’t view other cafes as competitors.
Each has unique atmosphere and products, she said.
“The more cafes, the more people a reason to come to Hartford,” she said. “I love the whole city feel – different cultures, events.”
The cafe is open Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hours may vary with special events at Dunkin’ Park.
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January 26, 2024 at 06:03PM
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Cozy new CT cafe will serve as 'another living room,' in 'incredible location' for customers - Hartford Courant
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Almost two months after Silver Lake coffee shop Café Tropical shut its doors, former employees who worked there say they are still missing hundreds or thousands of dollars in final paychecks that never went through.
The nearly 50-year-old Sunset Boulevard restaurant closed suddenly in late November as debts and a bitter family dispute ravaged the company that owned the Cuban coffee shop. But the out-of-the-blue decision to close left baristas and cooks out of work and missing paychecks they were still owed.
“It’s sad the way they just threw us away,” said Miguel Alarcon, 44, a barista who worked at Café Tropical for a dozen years until it closed on Dec. 1. “I told them I have kids, I have a family. ... You have to pay me.”
Alarcon and other employees said that problems began at Café Tropical months before the shuttering. Checks to employees were bouncing and vendors were complaining about not getting paid.
The issues came amid a lawsuit that owner Daniel Navarro’s mother filed against him in 2022. Gladys Navarro claimed in the suit that her son illicitly used money from the family business to fund Café Tropical. Daniel Navarro has failed to pay his mother and sister more than $350,000 he owes in connection with the suit, according to court documents.
The dispute left the workers in the lurch.
Alarcon is owed about a week of pay, amounting to around $900, he said. Other employees are owed even more. Another woman at the company was missing three paychecks, Alarcon said.
Jasmine Perez, who started at Café Tropical in September, said she was owed about $1,000. By the time she started at Café Tropical, issues already abounded.
“The first thing someone asked me was did your check go through?” she said. “It just became an absolute nightmare to ever get paid on time. There would be times where I’d be missing paychecks for two consecutive pay periods. It was very uncomfortable to try to ask for the money you already earned.”
A group is raising money on GoFundMe to try to pay employees who have struggled to get answers from the owner. Ciara Keane, a Silver Lake resident who organized the GoFundMe, said Navarro changed his number after the closure.
“Employees are still out of work and are having difficulty finding employment. They’re in need more now than ever,” Keane posted on GoFundMe.
The group has raised nearly $10,000, but says it still needs more than $50,000 in additional contributions to pay the 33 employees who lost their jobs and had their final paychecks bounce.
The goal is to pay the employees the $1,000 many are owed as well as another $1,000 for the time they were unemployed after the closure.
“I really wanted [the staff] to be able to feel how much the community loved and supported them, even though they didn’t get the same support from Daniel,” Keane said.
Keane moved to Los Angeles from Miami four years ago and although she is not Cuban, Café Tropical reminded her of the Cuban culture of the city she grew up in.
She also recognized the important role that Café Tropical played for the sober community as well as for older generations of Silver Lake residents who saw the restaurant as one of the last vestiges of the pre-gentrification days in the trendy neighborhood.
Keane and her friends printed out posters that link to the GoFundMe across Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Echo Park, but they still have not been able to raise enough money to make all the employees whole.
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January 25, 2024 at 05:50AM
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Ex-Café Tropical employees say coffee shop owes them thousands in pay - Los Angeles Times
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Dahlia Coffee Co. Is one of the newest coffee shops in town, and arguably the only one that can essentially transport Clevelanders to Mexico through crafted cafe drinks.
Dahlia Coffee started as an online retailer of locally roasted coffee by Natalia Alcazar. In December 2023, Alcazar opened a physical cafe inside of the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression, 2937 W. 25th Street.
Alcazar started her coffee roasting journey in May 2023 after leaving a corporate job. She moved to Cleveland from Portland, Oregon, and enjoyed frequenting the West Coast’s abundance of Mexican coffee shops.
Her road to roasting had two key elements — a pursuit of education and documentation of her journey on social media. She took courses, purchased a roaster, and got connected with First Crack Coffee, a co-roasting facility at 1436 E. 31st Street.
Dahlia Coffee was officially born as a result, with Alcazar still roasting at First Craft’s facility. The brand offers six single-origin coffee roasts, with the majority being sourced from Central and South America. Freshness is a key aspect of the business model.
“If I’m getting an order today then their coffee is roasted within the week,” Alcazar said.
Dahlia began building a community in Cleveland as a recent resident whose family still resides on the other side of the U.S.
She garnered a few wholesale customers and would make coffee drinks at events on her DIY coffee cart. At the start, the majority of Dahlia’s customers were home roasted located outside of Ohio who discovered Alcazar via social media.
“People started to kind of know what I was going for as far as a coffee shop,” Alcazar said.
Dahlia Coffee Co. is a new Mexican coffee shop in Cleveland.Alex Darus
Local organizations were pivotal in the creation of Dahlia Coffee. She got connected with JumpStart, a small business impact program, and completed courses specific for Latino business owners in the fall of 2023.
Through JumpStart, she was connected with the owner of Future Ink Graphics, who was looking for a tenant to serve coffee at its in-shop cafe space at the Pivot Center.
By December 8, Alcazar held the grand opening for Dahlia’s Coffee Co.’s cafe just two weeks after acquiring the space.
Dahlia Coffee Co. is essentially a one-woman show with a strong support network. Alcazar’s boyfriend, local artist Glen Infante, designed the coffee bags, logos and more for the shop. Alcazar recently hired help at the cafe because of the overwhelming number of customers she’s grown in just a few short weeks.
“As far as the roasting, packing, shipping, it’s all me,” Alcazar said.
Dahlia’s Mexican pride cannot be overlooked in nearly every detail of the brand. From its name, honoring the national flower of Mexico, to its menu items. Alcazar focuses on highlighting Mexican flavors that she hasn’t seen at other coffee shops in Cleveland.
The Mazapan Latte is one show-stopper that keeps customers returning to Dahlia. It’s flavored with Mexican Mazapan peanut candy, espresso and hazelnut.
The Mexican Mocha is another spin, as people typically use regular chocolate and spices like cayenne to achieve the flavor profile. Dahlia’s mocha isn’t spicy, although a recipe for one is in the works, that features homemade mocha sauce utilizing Mexican stone-ground chocolate.
“So far, that’s been one that a lot of people come back for because it does have a very different taste to it,” Alcazar said.
Dahlia Coffee Co. is a new Mexican coffee shop in Cleveland.Alex Darus
The Cafe de Olla is another traditional drink rooted in history. During the Mexican Revolution, a coffee drink steeped with spices was made to make the caffeine last longer.
Dahlia’s version of the drink features light roast coffee steeped in clove, cinnamon, star anise and sweetened in piloncillo, a brown cane sugar.
“When I moved here to Cleveland, there were so many things I missed from my culture,” Alcazar said. “There was nothing like that here and it’s such a big thing on the West Coast.”
Dahlia’s has a partnership with Jossi’s Bakery in Broadview Heights, owned by another local Latina. Jossi’s Bakery supplies prepped treats like empanadas and guava rolls for Alcazar to bake fresh daily. Alternatively, Jossi’s Bakery is also a wholesale customer of Dahlia and serves its coffee.
Art is another aspect ingrained in the business, partially due to its location inside of Future Ink Graphics and the Pivot Center. Dahlia has hosted a few art shows and events with more planned in the future to help attract more people to not just her brand, but the Pivot Center as a whole.
“I am in a really good location, I’m just really hidden,” Alcazar said, adding that there’s no sign outside of the building advertising for Dahlia.
Dahlia’s coffee cafe in the Pivot Center is hopefully just the beginning of the brand. Alcazar would love to grow into her own brick-and-mortar cafe where she’d be able to offer a larger menu with more authentic Mexican flavors.
“This is something where I could get my foot in the door,” Alcazar said.
Dahlia Coffee Co. is a new Mexican coffee shop in Cleveland.Alex Darus
Even as the seasons change, Dahlia customers can expect to see a changing menu with options like iced horchata lattes or drinks inspired by other types of Mexican candy.
“I want people to experience something different and get to experience a little bit of Mexico other than just tacos and nachos,” she said.
Dahlia has served several customers who have experienced cities with more robust Mexican coffee culture and express gratitude for now having a similar space in Cleveland.
“Hopefully, [I can] inspire other people to do the same with their culture. My way of doing it is through coffee,” Alcazar. “There’s so many things I missed and if I don’t do it, no one’s going to do it.”
Alex Darus writes about food, dining and drinking forCleveland.com,check out her latest postshere. You can reach her with story ideas atadarus@cleveland.com. Follow her on Instagram @alex_darus.
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January 26, 2024 at 06:00PM
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Dahlia Coffee Co. brings Mexican coffee culture to Cleveland with new cafe - cleveland.com
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The original Muddy Waters Coffee House, which has sat near the corner of 16th and Valencia streets for 34 years, is up for sale for $75,000, according to a Craigslist listing posted earlier this month.
“Lots of potential, popular cafe with locals and tourists … business owners ready to retire,” reads the listing, which also noted a prime location on Valencia Street with “heavy foot traffic.”
The owners’ daughter confirmed the sale, but said she was not sure why her parents were selling the cafe at 521 Valencia St. The coffee shop’s owners, Hisham and Elham Massarweh, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Najat Echchoukairi, who has worked at the cafe for 20 years, said she did not know about the sale. She said she could not speak for the owners, but that she wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to sell the business.
In an interview with Mission Local in December, Echchoukairi said she feared the owners would be forced to close because the business had slowed considerably.
Muddy Waters relied on construction workers who would drive by, park, get their coffee and be on their way, she said. But the parking spaces outside of the cafe are now reserved only for six-wheeled delivery vehicles.
The Muddy Waters Coffee House is quiet on a Thursday. Photo by Junyao Yang on Jan. 25, 2024.
On Thursday at around noon, only one person was sitting in the cafe. Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” and a copy of Sunday’s New York Times sat on the bookshelf near the register, unread.
Muddy Waters used to be a community hub for discussion of politics, poetry and issues that affected San Francisco in the ’90s, cafe co-owner Hisham Massarweh said in a 2018 interview. That changed around the time of the recession in 2008, Echchoukairi said, when the regulars stopped coming.
The new customers, she said at the time, “don’t even talk to me to ask how I am. They just ask for their coffee. They are in their own world.”
But at the time she still tried to make the place a community space it once was, striking up conversations with new and old customers alike. When a customer was short a few dollars or could not afford their coffee, she told them they could pay later.
Muddy Waters suffered an ATM theft last year, after which the coffee shop had to move its ATM away from the entrance to the back of the store.
The Massarwehs closed the cafe’s other location near the corner of 24th and Valencia streets in 2021 after 27 years on the site, due to a failed rent negotiation. That cafe remains empty.
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