[unable to retrieve full-text content]
New Kansas City cafe hopes to prevent violence — one breakfast sandwich at a time Kansas City Star
A response to an applicant has gone viral when the general manager of Peck’s in Clinton Hill, Kyle Dollinger, wrote a sarcastic and disrespectful retort to an applicant who asked about salary in response to a now deleted job posting on Craigslist.
Peck’s, known for its breakfast sandwiches, owned by Theodore Peck, also has a nearby Fort Greene coffee shop Peckish. It was not clear which cafe posted the ad for employment.
Passed late last year, the salary transparency act will require employers in New York State to list salary ranges for all advertised jobs and promotions. It goes into effect September 17, 2023; however, New York City’s transparency law went into effect in November.
“It would seem the city has some work to do in terms of educating employers about our salary transparency law,” the applicant Liam Quigley, wrote on Twitter on Thursday, June 29, “judging by this reply I got when inquiring about a job at a Brooklyn eatery.”
Dollinger noted what is and isn’t sarcasm in brackets, below:
Hello Liam —
Great intro. [That’s sarcasm.] It is stipulated right there in the advertisement; it says “DOE” which means “Dependent on Experience” [Not sarcasm.]
I cannot rightly tell you a salary when you do not provide me with your experience, which, at the very lease would come by way of a “resume” [Slight sarcasm]. Which you did not include — which was also requested on the same advertisement [Not sarcasm]. So how about this: the salary range is anywhere from $0/hour to $1 Billion Dollars/hour + tips [Slight sarcasm].
Now either send me your resume, or don’t [Not sarcasm].
Kyle
Over 360,000 people have viewed Quigley’s Tweet with over 40 responses, including a Twitter user who speculated about the workplace environment. “Peck’s Foods. Wow, dude put some loving effort into such an elaborate way of saying ‘run screaming from this workplace, I am just the biggest prick of a boss in history and live to crap on my ill-compensated and lavishly-abused underlings.’”
The restaurant has reportedly left Twitter since the incident; others have migrated over to the restaurant’s Instagram account to comment, including one follower, who wrote, “Great post! [Sarcasm.]”
In response to those who asked why the restaurant didn’t comply with New York State law, the restaurant responded, “One of the best things we can do is learn from our mistakes!” Eater has reached out to Dollinger and Peck’s for comment.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
New Kansas City cafe hopes to prevent violence — one breakfast sandwich at a time Kansas City Star
BERKLEY, Mich. – A 21-year-old driver from Sterling Heights is accused of drunkenly crashing into an Oakland County cafe in the middle of the night.
The crash happened at 2:37 a.m. Friday, June 30, at 3116 12 Mile Road in Berkley.
Police said the driver smashed into The Lunch Cafe, badly damaging the building. They believe he was drunk at the time of the crash.
Preliminary tests suggest the man’s blood-alcohol content was more than double the legal limit, according to Berkley officials. He is facing a possible charge of operating under the influence of alcohol.
Nobody was injured in the crash, including the driver.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Large blaze damages Main Street Cafe in Madison WHNT News 19
For those who’ve been yearning to travel to Japan since its borders reopened last fall, a slice of Japanese cafe culture has landed on Adams Avenue with the arrival of Hatsuzakura, which debuts to the general public on Wednesday, July 5.
Prior to opening the cafe, proprietor Sakura Kadoya worked next door at Soichi Sushi, the Michelin-starred sushi bar owned by her parents. Created in partnership with co-owner Reymond Palisoc, Hatsuzakura is an updated take on the Japanese kissaten, a retro tea house, serving classic desserts and snacks as well as casual, homestyle dishes popularized by famiresu, or “family restaurants” that proliferate in Japan.
Kadoya’s master sushi chef father consulted on the menu, which features his recipe for karaage, or Japanese-style fried chicken, along with comfort food ranging from yakisoba and omurice to fusion dishes like Napolitan — spaghetti in a sweet tomato sauce with bacon — and doria, a baked gratin of buttered rice smothered in cream sauce and cheese that comes with either shrimp or chicken. There are also onigiri and Japanese sandos.
The homemade sweets include kakigori — Japanese shaved ice topped with matcha or fresh fruit — along with mochi ice cream, custard pudding with caramel sauce, skewered glutinous rice flour dumplings called dango, and anmitsu, a chilled dessert of jelly, fruit, and red bean paste. The all-day cafe also offers wine and beer, plus drinks like hojicha lattes and melon soda floats.
Hatsuzakara, 2123 Adams Avenue, University Heights. Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
First a biergarten and now a coffee stand. Water Works Park lands the Mars Coffee Explorer, a cosmic coffee trailer from the Drake University coffee shop Mars Café.
“We wanted to create a space for people to drink great coffee while enjoying a Des Moines park,” said owner Kuuku Saah in a news statement. “Our goal is to provide not only exceptional coffee but also an immersive experience that transports our customers to a new dimension. A space where they can hangout, spend some time outdoors, get to know people and work remotely.”
Aside from coffee concoctions made by “Martian baristas,” the coffee cart offers free WiFi.
The Mars Coffee Explorer is open Thursday to Sunday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Find it at 2201 George Flagg Pkwy., Des Moines.
More: Des Moines Biergarten returns to Water Works Park with German beers, brats and currywurst
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.
When four construction workers walked into Far From Paradise Cafe on Ocean Avenue, general manager Jan Vicente was happy to see all four order multi-colored shaved ice dripping with syrup and sugar. Within moments the crew was chatting like happy kids on summer break. The shop opened in spring 2023, but as summer blows into San Francisco the cafe is stocked with malasadas, craft coffee, shave ice, and soon, Dole Whip. “This is their happy place,” co-owner Tony Ho says of the shop’s many fans.
Ho is joined by Randy Santos from Ocean Malasadas, the baker behind the hot pop-up, which specializes in the Portuguese doughnuts that are popular in Hawai’i. Before Santos approached Ho for a standing engagement at 296 Ocean Avenue, the space was exclusively home to shave ice joint Pineapples, a business Ho opened in 2016. But the pop-ups went swimmingly, and the excellent combination of shaved ice and malasadas just made sense to the duo. “We formed into one,” Santos says. “Far From Paradise Cafe is bringing two Hawaiian-style desserts further from the island.”
The shop combines what made Pineapples a local treasure with the magic behind Santos’ stuffed, Portuguese delicacies. Fans can still expect Pineapples’s classic shave ice flavors including guava, Blue Hawaii, and coconut with coconut shavings on top, though the team is looking forward to taking their shaved ice to a new level of innovation and quality to match a rising interest in the item thanks to TikTok. Plus, a new Dole Whip machine is en route to the store in the coming months. “People still come here looking for it,” Ho says. “So we made a big purchase. That’ll be on tap.” On the malasada side, there are 12 rotating flavors brought in from South San Francisco each morning including leche flan-filled and ube-infused riffs.
Andytown Coffee is the brew on hand right now, as the fellow westside business was an early supporter of Ocean Malasadas, but Far From Paradise will feature lots of roasters throughout the Bay. Furthering the local ties, Evan Lessler of streetwear company Adapt is tapped in, selling his book Gold Blooded and other retail items at the shop. Leah Ledda is another local entrepreneur in the loop thanks to her company Lei’s Plant Shop, selling loads of plants including a still-growing pineapple. The shop has deep Bay Area roots, with both Vicente and Ho growing up and going to school in the Excelsior. “I’ve seen this neighborhood develop through the years,” Ho says. “We get to help by giving people a part of the island lifestyle.”
All three of the leadership team have high hopes for the operation. Ho wants to make sure his customers from the Pineapples days know that Far From Paradise is still the go-to spot for after-school treats and pre-work caffeine. After everything is flowing at this flagship shop, including expanded hours throughout the week, new outposts in sunnier parts of the Bay will be quick to follow — San Jose, the East Bay, or maybe even another outpost in the city. “I’m happy about it,” Santos says. “People always say ‘I just came back from Hawai’i,’ or ‘I had this as a kid in Hawai’i.’ It’s for everyone, but we are rooted in culture.”
Far From Paradise Cafe is open at 296 Ocean Avenue Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
BLOOMINGTON — Zeta Coffee, 301 N. Main St. in downtown Bloomington, is this week's pick for Eats of the Week.
The café owned by Bloomington native Joel Aper opened June 16 inside the new location of Red Raccoon Games, with a walk-up window available to serve customers from the sidewalk.
Zeta also maintains locations inside the Four Seasons II, 2401 Airport Road, Bloomington, and in Downs, where it opened alongside The Union Café on April 1 before taking over the entire space. The Downs café is at 201 S. Seminary St.
Bloomington native Joel Aper shows off the walk-up window at the new Zeta Coffee, 301 N. Main St. in downtown Bloomington. The business is located inside the new site of Red Raccoon Games.
Aper has worked in the restaurant industry his whole life. He recently worked in a coffee shop and bakery for the last four years before deciding to venture out on his own, and come back to Bloomington after living in Tennessee.
"I'm beyond excited to really just experiment. It's been a dream for years to have my own company, and I'm super excited to just have fun with it and see where it goes," Aper said. "I've always had a love for cafés and coffee shops from studying and hanging out with friends there, but I just started studying coffee over the last few years in depth and I loved it."
Zeta serves coffee, including lattes and other espresso-based drinks, tea, boba drinks, pastries, hot chocolate, ice cream, Italian soda, breakfast burritos, smoothies and more. The business offers catering for weddings, parties and other events, and has brought pop-up shops to local churches and Rivian Automotive.
While Zeta maintains a few partnerships with other businesses, including syrup companies, Aper said they are focused on creating their own recipes and house-made syrups. They even locally source their lavender and honey.
Part of Zeta's mission is to give back to farmers and the community; another goal is to serve only compostable products. Every cup sold goes towards that mission, he said.
Barista Madison Cole works on a latte order at Zeta Coffee.
"A friend told me there's a psychology article or study that says that businesses that start with the letter 'Z' are more attractive and more dominant at first glance," Aper said. "There's nothing crazy symbolic about it; it's just something different."
Fan favorite menu items include the vanilla iced latte and the honey lavender latte.
The Downs location offers 16 ice cream flavors that Zeta inherited from The Union's supplier, and the Bloomington location serves eight flavors. The locations will also offer seasonal drink items.
Aper said he believes Zeta is the first coffee shop or restaurant in downtown Bloomington to have a walk-up window. Customers will be able to order through the window, even when the game store is closed.
"We want to be able to offer specialty coffee or just something for past 5 p.m.," Aper said. "The mission of my company is to help people and help the world, mentor my team. If it means we're selling coffee, we're selling car tires, I don't really care as long as we're helping."
Aper said he plans to offer later operating hours when the college students return in the fall. He also plans to offer a late night menu for the bar crowds.
Contact Olivia Jacobs at 309-820-3352. Follow Olivia on Twitter: @olivia___jacobs
Houston has plenty of places for terrific rise-and-shine breakfast dishes. But a Bellaire restaurant is making a syrup-drenched play for the best breakfast in America.
Dandelion Café, a family-owned restaurant at 5405 Bellaire, won a shot at "Good Morning America’s" “United States of Breakfast” competition during a Monday morning Houston showdown against The Breakfast Klub, the famous Midtown restaurant.
Televised live on ABC from Saint Arnold Brewing Co., the competition pitted the two restaurants in a chicken and waffles battle judged by Food Network star Eddie Jackson (of Cypress), ABC-13 anchor Erica Simon and former Texans football player Owen Daniels.
LET'S DO BRUNCH: Houston's 24 best brunch restaurants
Both restaurants are known for their takes on chicken and waffles. But in a 2-to-1 vote, Dandelion came out the victor with its crispy cornbread waffle topped with buttermilk-brined chicken thighs slathered in a spicy maple butter and drizzled with maple syrup. Dandelion’s dish bested The Breakfast Klub’s legendary fluffy waffles crowned with 23-hour marinated fried chicken wings.
Dandelion Café, founded in 2016, is owned by chef JC Ricks and Sarah Lieberman, who now will go on to New York to compete against three other cities for the title of Best Breakfast in America, which comes with a $10,000 prize. The ABC morning show continues the breakfast challenge this week with the finals set for June 30 in New York City.
GMA’s return to Houston comes after last summer’s showdown, when rapper Bun B’s Trill Burgers was pitted against Diane and Willet Feng’s Burger-chan in its “United States of Burgers” competition. Trill won the title of Best Burger in America.
Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@houstonchronicle.com.
COPPER HILL, Va. – Our area has a lot to offer in terms of local goods, and one business owner is helping showcase that!
Susan Huff struck gold up on Copper Hill when she opened the Soup Shop Cafe.
She tells us, “We’ve created a local love spot, we call it.”
Instead of opening in a commercial space, she took a house and made it home - for anyone who wants to visit and take advantage of Floyd County’s resources.
“My dream was to retire and open up a shop for people to come and have that bounty in one place.”
It’s a dream come true for Huff, who owned a restaurant in Florida for a decade and studied Biodynamics in New York.
Her reason for moving this way is “The farms, the food, and the amazing amount of produce – the amazing amount of local items we can get in a very small area – Floyd County. We represent over 25 different makers and creators in Floyd County from baked goods to hand-crafted goods to local beef to local coffee to local produce, honey, maple syrup, and soaps. It’s a little bit of everything.”
That not only means there’s a lot for you to choose from, but there’s a variety of things she makes in-house.
“I make 16 varieties of soups. We have one hot soup every single day, and we rotate that. Every single day, we have a different soup. We have our turkey pesto [wrap]. We have a ham and cheese. We have a chicken salad wrap. We have salads.”
Floyd County has become Huff’s ‘Field of Dreams,’ proving that if you build it, they will come.
The most surprising part of this endeavor, Huff says, “I’ve met my community. I would’ve never met them if I didn’t open up this shop.”
Some of Houston’s best breakfast was on full display this morning — and now, it’s in the running for being No. 1 in America.
On Monday, June 26, the national morning TV show Good Morning America kicked off its country-wide “United States of Breakfast” competition in Houston, with Bellaire's all-day breakfast spot Dandelion Cafe and Midtown’s The Breakfast Klub facing off in a chicken and waffles challenge at Houston’s Saint Arnold Brewing Company.
In the end, Dandelion Cafe, which is owned by husband-and-wife duo Sarah Lieberman and chef JC Ricks, came out on top, wowing celebrity judges, including former Houston Texans football player Owen Daniels, with their rendition of chicken and waffles — a surprising feat considering wings and waffles is one of The Breakfast Klub’s most iconic dishes.
“We beat them at their own game. We’re really surprised, but not surprised because it’s such a quality dish that JC came up with,” Lieberman said in an interview with Eater Houston. “We’re super excited. It was amazing. We just feel like we’re on top of the world right now.”
Dandelion will advance to the next, national round, sending chef Ricks and Lieberman to New York, where they’ll compete against three other cities on Friday, June 30, for a chance to win $10,000 and the title of the best breakfast in America. Lieberman said each city will prepare a different dish. Dandelion’s dish will once again be chicken and waffles.
“We’re beyond excited for the opportunity to showcase our unique, scratch-made breakfast,” Ricks said in a statement. “Whichever way it goes, we just can’t wait to show Houston and America what we’re made of and we’re proud to represent our city.”
But Lieberman adds, “it would be pretty amazing if we won. Ever since we got picked, we’ve been perfecting the recipe, making it for people, and trying to get it right.”
Lieberman says Ricks eventually decided on pairing a cornbread buttermilk waffle with boneless chicken thighs for even more of a Southern emphasis on the dish. The chicken thighs are marinated in homemade buttermilk and a blend of spices for 24 hours, then breaded in rice flour, fried, and served with compound butter, maple syrup, local honey, chili flakes, and hot sauce, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Though the dish was specially made for the competition, Lieberman said Dandelion Cafe debuted the dish on its menu on Saturday — meaning residents can try the award-winning dish. “We can’t not have it on our menu after winning on Good Morning America,” Lieberman said.
The restaurant, which first opened in August 2016, is known for its breakfast — serving staples like its blueberry lemon focaccia French toast sticks, buttermilk pancakes, and breakfast tacos throughout the week — but has built a reputation for a wide-ranging menu that appeals to various diets, including gluten-free and vegetarian. Dandelion also offers various lunch offers, and drinks ranging from agua frescas and house-pressed juices to coffees, flavored lattes, and mimosas.
Good Morning America has been known to visit Houston for its cuisine. The Breakfast Klub also participated in a similar GMA breakfast challenge in 2010. The restaurant, which is known for its wings and waffles and “katfish” and grits, received more than 250 nominations for the national breakfast competition, according to a Culturemap report, but was ultimately beaten out by a Wisconsin restaurant that served cherry-stuffed French toast.
And in 2022, GMA hosted its “United States of Burgers” competition, in which Houston’s Trill Burgers, which recently opened a location in Montrose, faced off against burger-chan, before moving on and winning the national title for GMA’s best burger in America.
Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in New York restaurants for decades. Cecchi’s is his first solo project. Photo: Joe Kramm
Michael Cecchi-Azzolina won’t be mad if people have sex in the bathroom of his new restaurant. To be clear, he’s not promoting the idea, and he’ll kick out anybody that’s caught in the act, but in principle, the idea is fine. If the food and cocktails and lighting and slightly risqué art on the walls have set the appropriate mood? “I won,” Cecchi-Azzolina says.
When it opens next week, Cecchi’s — as it’s called — will fill the hole left on West 13th Street when Café Loup closed for good, and Cecchi-Azzolina wants his restaurant to offer the same spirit of easy luxury. It shouldn’t be complicated. He wants it to be an “American bistro,” even though he admits he’s never loved that phrase: “You have a French word, you have an American word — what is it?” His mantra is that Cecchi’s serves “grilled steaks, chops, and seafood.” There will be a fries-and-martini “New York Happy Meal” special, bartenders will converse with patrons while mixing drinks that don’t involve a dozen ingredients, a burger he’s really proud of, and “anything fresh from Montauk” that Cecchi-Azzolina will get from his fishermen friends on Long Island. Most important is that it all feels just right. Everything has to be perfect, but it also has to be loose and fun.
Café Loup was one of the great IYKYK places, another of the spots that forced New Yorkers downtown in the ’80s. Some of these places are still around, like Raoul’s, where Cecchi-Azzolina started working in 1992 when he was “back and forth” between the restaurant and acting gigs. He says the look was a big inspiration for Cecchi’s, where, as soon as customers walk in, they’ll see a mural by the artist Jean-Pierre Villafañe, a scene of scantily clad figures that calls to mind the red-light district of Paris or the nightclubs of Weimar Berlin. It sits just above a green banque. At the center of it all is the old Café Loup cash register. Cecchi-Azzolina worked with Studio Becky Carter to get everything right — the wooden bar that somehow evokes both the 1920s and the 1980s, for example — and nothing was more important than the lighting. All around the restaurant are hanging lamps that add a modernist touch to the room, most coming from the former Czech Republic, made in the 1970s. Sconces are from a local NYC lighting designer, Blueprint Lighting, and L’Observatoire was responsible for the architectural lighting. “I was thinking about Deco-era fashion details and Bauhaus geometry,” Carter says. “It was also important to me to create a warmth and softness by washing the walls and columns with indirect light.”
The dining room. Photo: Joe Kramm
Making sure customers have a great experience is an obsession for Cecchi-Azzolina. In addition to his time at Raoul’s, he was also the guy you wanted to know for a reservation at Le Coucou or the River Café at various times, and he’s trying to recapture a bygone level of hospitality: “You can’t find a maître d’ anymore,” he says. “I was talking with someone and they said they started in the business as a maître d’ — that’s how fucked up it has become. That was your first restaurant job?”
The city is awash in faux-retro revivalism right now, restaurants that conjure the invented elegance of some imagined past, but Cecchi-Azzolina points to specific reference points he wants to hit: the Stork Club, Mortimer’s, and Elaine’s, where it was almost impossible to get a seat for nearly 50 years even if, as Cecchi-Azzolina points out, “the food was never that great.”
Cecchi-Azzolina doesn’t plan to take that chance at the restaurant that bears his name. The menu is “a little more elevated than I expected,” he says, but notes that it’s still “New York soul food.” There are nods to classics — a new take on béarnaise-enriched sautéed “mushrooms à la Daum” that was famous at the 21 Club, chicken à la King made with Champagne sauce and a lid of puff pastry — and a new take on the French dip, a pot-roast sandwich.
Cecchi-Azzolina has spent his life in the city’s restaurants, and he wants Cecchi’s to honor that legacy (“but with better food”). He’s trying to build a haunt, a place that anyone can go because it’s there and it’s always great, and everyone inside is looking their best. “There’s gotta be a sense of people coming in here getting a little dressed up,” he says. “Like, ‘Let’s relax and have a casual night, but let’s look good.’”
The remodeled bar, where plenty of martinis are about to be ordered. Photo: Joe Kramm
This post has been updated to clarify the different lighting designs.
Houston has plenty of places for terrific rise-and-shine breakfast dishes. But a Bellaire restaurant is making a syrup-drenched play for the best breakfast in America.
Dandelion Café, a family-owned restaurant at 5405 Bellaire, won a shot at "Good Morning America’s" “United States of Breakfast” competition during a Monday morning Houston showdown against The Breakfast Klub, the famous Midtown restaurant.
Televised live on ABC from Saint Arnold Brewing Co., the competition pitted the two restaurants in a chicken and waffles battle judged by Food Network star Eddie Jackson (of Cypress), ABC-13 anchor Erica Simon and former Texans football player Owen Daniels.
LET'S DO BRUNCH: Houston's 24 best brunch restaurants
Both restaurants are known for their takes on chicken and waffles. But in a 2-to-1 vote, Dandelion came out the victor with its crispy cornbread waffle topped with buttermilk-brined chicken thighs slathered in a spicy maple butter and drizzled with maple syrup. Dandelion’s dish bested The Breakfast Klub’s legendary fluffy waffles crowned with 23-hour marinated fried chicken wings.
Dandelion Café, founded in 2016, is owned by chef JC Ricks and Sarah Lieberman, who now will go on to New York to compete against three other cities for the title of Best Breakfast in America, which comes with a $10,000 prize. The ABC morning show continues the breakfast challenge this week with the finals set for June 30 in New York City.
GMA’s return to Houston comes after last summer’s showdown, when rapper Bun B’s Trill Burgers was pitted against Diane and Willet Feng’s Burger-chan in its “United States of Burgers” competition. Trill won the title of Best Burger in America.
Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@houstonchronicle.com.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — City Café’s downtown restaurant is shutting its door for good.
This 20-year-old location, at 901 Carter Street, is closed as of Monday, June 26. It opened in 2003 and has been locally famous ever since.
The owner of City Café, Lee Epstein, says it was not his decision.
The restaurant was located in a building owned by Hotel Bo, a Days Inn by Windham hotel.
Epstein explains the closure was decided by the hotel owners. “They decided not to renew my lease,” Epstein said.
However, all hope is not lost. The Lee Highway City Café remains open.
In addition, Epstein mentioned their plans for a new Downtown Chattanooga location to open soon.
Work for this new location, at 511 Broad Street, is underway. It is currently set to open on October 1.
Monday, June 26, 2023 6:03PM
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Two Houston breakfast spots faced off on "Good Morning America" Monday morning in a search for the best breakfast in America.
The Breakfast Klub went head-to-head with Dandelion Café for the best chicken and waffles. ABC13's Erica Simon was a celebrity judge, alongside former NFL player and Food Network show host Eddie Jackson and former Houston Texan Owen Daniels.
The tastings took place at St. Arnold's Brewing Company.
Both restaurants are popular and have their own spin on their recipes, but in the end, Dandelion Café won. Owners JC Ricks and Sarah Liebermann will now go on to New York to compete with other cities for the best breakfast spot in the country.
Dandelion Café makes their chicken batter with chorizo and creole seasonings. Meanwhile, their waffles are made out of cornbread. Their special-made butter has a splash of hot sauce to create the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.
The Astros' Shooting Stars dance team and the Texans cheerleaders were also there to help root on the competitors.
Houston is no stranger to winning and already has quite the bragging right. Last year, Bun B's Trill Burger went on to win the best burger in America in GMA's competition.
SEE RELATED STORY: Drake calls Trill Burgers 'best' he's ever had after surprise visit on Juneteenth
For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Copyright © 2023 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Related Topics
ASHEVILLE - South Asheville has more reasons to perk up now that a new coffee shop has made its soft opening debut.
On June 16, The Dripolator opened its doors at 20 Gala Road, suite 101, and the first guests began to trickle in to see what the café had to offer. It didn’t take long for community members to find the business and settle in.
“We put it on our Instagram, but we didn’t put it out there that much,” said co-owner Joshua Valdes. “People have heard, and there’s some murmuring that we’re in the space, and they’re finding us. It’s happening organically, and they’re showing up.”
Dripolator is in Gerber Village, a mixed-use development consisting of residential homes and restaurants, medical offices and retail businesses at Gerber Road and Hendersonville Road. The parking lot extends to other retailers, including Publix.
“We’ve always wanted to come south because, basically, once you leave Biltmore Village there’s not a whole lot as far as neighborhood, independent coffee shops and that seems to be a theme and a space we’re trying to fill,” Valdes said.
The Dripolator ― also known as The Drip ― is new to Gerber Village in South Asheville, but the business has served Western North Carolina customers for more than 20 years.
In 1999, Dripolator, founded by Amy Vermillion, opened at 221 W. State St. in Black Mountain. In 2022, the second store opened at 909 Smokey Park Highway in Candler.
Each café embodies its own look, layout and feel while reflecting the brand’s style that’s aimed to create a laid-back getaway.
“We just like having fun with things that are pretty that we like,” Valdes said. “Art deco has always been a theme that resonates with our logo and who we are and the beginning, but we also wanted a space that was feminine and strong.”
The Gerber Village shop is intimate with a dining room that wraps around the center counter. One side of the café is lined with a high-top bar that looks out of a large window. More high tables and chairs are directly in front of the order counter.
A larger, open area ― referred to as the “living room” or the “parlor” ― is furnished with vintage lounge chairs, couches and wooden tables with original artwork by the Black Mountain shop’s barista manager, Madeline Marra.
“We wanted, when you walk in, for it to be a traditional coffee bar seating with the high tops, then we wanted to transition to a space that’s a little more eclectic, a little more free-spirited. Beautiful, feminine and comfortable,” Valdes said.
A garage door rolls up to a spacious patio with additional seating for about 20 people.
Tin tiles line the ceiling, and the unfinished floors that remained from the former tenants, Holy Water Seltzer Brew Pub, add character.
“It’s things we couldn’t change, a feeling that this organic; this is really nice,” Valdes said. “We’re happy. It’s such a beautiful spot, and we’re happy and fortunate to serve Gerber and whoever is in this community.”
A dripolator, a pour-over coffee maker popular in the art deco era of the early 1900s, accents the counter.
The drink and dining menus feature many of the same items offered at Dripolator’s other shops, though there are a few variations.
Signature drinks and flavored syrups are available for those who are up for trying something different, but the offerings are diversified for crossover appeal.
“We want to be approachable,” he said. “We don’t want to go too crazy into experimentation. We want to keep it fresh, but we want anybody to come in here and feel like they can get a drink and enjoy it.”
The Killer Bee ― a latte infused with honey and cinnamon that’s served hot or cold ― remains the most popular drink on the menu, Valdes said, though the Cubano is his favorite.
Summertime recommendations include the Cherry Espresso Tonic, which may sound like an odd combination, but Valdes assures is delicious. It’s made with cherry syrup, espresso and tonic water that’s served over ice.
“It’s one of those things you see on Instagram and you’re like, ‘I don’t know about that,’ then you put it together. … It’s just so nice,” he said.
Many other options are on the menu, including frappes and fruit smoothies.
Dripolator makes a large portion of its baked goods with croissants sourced from Four Sisters Bakery in Black Mountain. Breakfast sandwiches and more treats are available.
Also, Dripolator roasts its coffee at its Candler café-roastery.
Coffee may be purchased at the shop by the bag. The café offers a refillable jar program, too, in which customers may receive a discount on their roasts when they bring back the designated glass container.
The small jar is $19 for the jar and beans but after that, it’s $7.50 to refill the jar, which holds nearly a pound of coffee, Valdes said.
Where: 20 Gala Road, suite 101, Asheville
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
Info: For more, follow on social media at https://www.facebook.com/thedripolatorcoffeehouse and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dripolatorcoffeehouse.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
ASHEVILLE - South Asheville has more reasons to perk up now that a new coffee shop has made its soft opening debut.
On June 16, The Dripolator opened its doors at 20 Gala Road, suite 101, and the first guests began to trickle in to see what the café had to offer. It didn’t take long for community members to find the business and settle in.
“We put it on our Instagram, but we didn’t put it out there that much,” said co-owner Joshua Valdes. “People have heard, and there’s some murmuring that we’re in the space, and they’re finding us. It’s happening organically, and they’re showing up.”
Dripolator is in Gerber Village, a mixed-use development consisting of residential homes and restaurants, medical offices and retail businesses at Gerber Road and Hendersonville Road. The parking lot extends to other retailers, including Publix.
“We’ve always wanted to come south because, basically, once you leave Biltmore Village there’s not a whole lot as far as neighborhood, independent coffee shops and that seems to be a theme and a space we’re trying to fill,” Valdes said.
The Dripolator ― also known as The Drip ― is new to Gerber Village in South Asheville, but the business has served Western North Carolina customers for more than 20 years.
In 1999, Dripolator, founded by Amy Vermillion, opened at 221 W. State St. in Black Mountain. In 2022, the second store opened at 909 Smokey Park Highway in Candler.
Each café embodies its own look, layout and feel while reflecting the brand’s style that’s aimed to create a laid-back getaway.
“We just like having fun with things that are pretty that we like,” Valdes said. “Art deco has always been a theme that resonates with our logo and who we are and the beginning, but we also wanted a space that was feminine and strong.”
The Gerber Village shop is intimate with a dining room that wraps around the center counter. One side of the café is lined with a high-top bar that looks out of a large window. More high tables and chairs are directly in front of the order counter.
A larger, open area ― referred to as the “living room” or the “parlor” ― is furnished with vintage lounge chairs, couches and wooden tables with original artwork by the Black Mountain shop’s barista manager, Madeline Marra.
“We wanted, when you walk in, for it to be a traditional coffee bar seating with the high tops, then we wanted to transition to a space that’s a little more eclectic, a little more free-spirited. Beautiful, feminine and comfortable,” Valdes said.
A garage door rolls up to a spacious patio with additional seating for about 20 people.
Tin tiles line the ceiling, and the unfinished floors that remained from the former tenants, Holy Water Seltzer Brew Pub, add character.
“It’s things we couldn’t change, a feeling that this organic; this is really nice,” Valdes said. “We’re happy. It’s such a beautiful spot, and we’re happy and fortunate to serve Gerber and whoever is in this community.”
A dripolator, a pour-over coffee maker popular in the art deco era of the early 1900s, accents the counter.
The drink and dining menus feature many of the same items offered at Dripolator’s other shops, though there are a few variations.
Signature drinks and flavored syrups are available for those who are up for trying something different, but the offerings are diversified for crossover appeal.
“We want to be approachable,” he said. “We don’t want to go too crazy into experimentation. We want to keep it fresh, but we want anybody to come in here and feel like they can get a drink and enjoy it.”
The Killer Bee ― a latte infused with honey and cinnamon that’s served hot or cold ― remains the most popular drink on the menu, Valdes said, though the Cubano is his favorite.
Summertime recommendations include the Cherry Espresso Tonic, which may sound like an odd combination, but Valdes assures is delicious. It’s made with cherry syrup, espresso and tonic water that’s served over ice.
“It’s one of those things you see on Instagram and you’re like, ‘I don’t know about that,’ then you put it together. … It’s just so nice,” he said.
Many other options are on the menu, including frappes and fruit smoothies.
Dripolator makes a large portion of its baked goods with croissants sourced from Four Sisters Bakery in Black Mountain. Breakfast sandwiches and more treats are available.
Also, Dripolator roasts its coffee at its Candler café-roastery.
Coffee may be purchased at the shop by the bag. The café offers a refillable jar program, too, in which customers may receive a discount on their roasts when they bring back the designated glass container.
The small jar is $19 for the jar and beans but after that, it’s $7.50 to refill the jar, which holds nearly a pound of coffee, Valdes said.
Where: 20 Gala Road, suite 101, Asheville
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
Info: For more, follow on social media at https://www.facebook.com/thedripolatorcoffeehouse and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dripolatorcoffeehouse.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
MANCHESTER, NH – Café la Reine owner Alex Horton has announced she is closing the business she started a decade ago – including the small cafe on Elm Street and the full-service restaurant on Webster Street – both of which have served as a comfort zone and community outpost for so many.
On Saturday Horton released the following statement on closing Café la Reine and Café la Reine North End:
“Throughout the last 10 years, it has been our honor to serve the Manchester community. Unfortunately, due to inflation and rising food costs, we have been forced to close our doors. We are grateful to the many patrons who have become our extended family over the years and to the more than 800 employees who have come to work for us. While it is unfortunate that economic conditions prevent us from continuing to live our dream and do what we love, it has been a joy to serve as a Manchester “staple” for over a decade.
We loved bringing art, live music, good food, and house roasted coffee to the people of Manchester and have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people over the years. We ask our former patrons and friends to PLEASE consider shopping small, shopping local, and supporting family-owned businesses. They need your support now, more than ever and are part of the fabric of our community. Leave a positive review for a restaurant you love. Buy lunch or coffee for the office. Consider going out once a week to a small, local place you’ve never tried before. Unfortunately, the reality is that if we don’t shop small, there won’t be family-owned businesses left in a few years. We have been so grateful to call Manchester our home and thank you so much for all you did to brighten and enrich our lives!”
Horton opened the original Café la Reine at 915 Elm St. in March of 2013 shortly after graduating from Southern NH University. Her dream was to create a space where everyone from high school students to professionals could gather for high-quality coffee in a comfortable setting with a creative menu of good eats.
She also held “Java Jams” which brought local musicians into the cafe for after-regular-hours musical interludes, creating a true coffeehouse vibe.
Although COVID took a toll on her business as it did all downtown eateries, Horton adapted – she added a take-out window and capitalized on outdoor seating and one year ago, she partnered with Dominique Gibson as general manager and expanded her brand – and menu – to open Cafe la Reine North End. on Webster Street.
In March Horton via a social media post reflected on her 10 years in the restaurant business, from opening and weathering the pandemic, to what the next 10 years might bring:
“I remember April of 2020, I was sitting at home and was so unsure of our future. I remember thinking that whatever happened, I just wanted to make it to 10 years. If I could only reach that milestone, I knew we would be okay. I have watched many businesses turn over in my ten years on elm street, and I am so grateful to the few who stuck around as we supported each other through the most difficult times we had ever experienced.
My grandfather, my Jido, believed in me and my business plan when I was only 23. I had nothing, no assets and no credit, fresh out of college. He co-signed a loan with me because he had no doubt that I would make it. He passed away in 2015, and not having him here to lean on and guide me nearly broke me and my business. I have to believe he’s been here watching over me, willing me to keep going, and encouraging me to take some huge steps forward.”
Last week Horton via Facebook posted on both business sites that she was giving staff the week off for “much-needed time off.”
On Saturday, she confirmed what some had already suspected. The hiatus was to be permanent.
On a personal note, I have long admired Horton’s dedication to our community. She has been super supportive of other downtown businesses, including the Ink Link. She has given inexperienced high school students the opportunity to test out their wings as employees. She has provided a space for local musicians and lovers of music to commune, a space for artists to sit for hours and sketch, and a meeting place where many important business conversations were had and life-changing deals, struck.
But above it all she showed us all that everything’s possible. A young woman with no experience and plenty of ambition can build a successful business that meets and fills a community need. She elevated other women in the process and always did so with that warm and incredible smile of hers.
I am thankful for what has been and look forward to whatever is next for her, but I am sad for the rest of us, and the loss of our little “queen cafe” – and I echo Horton’s call for people to keep supporting the small businesses they love.
If you ignore them, they will go away.
ORMOND BEACH — The owners of the new Soraya Mediterranean Cafe received a surprise visit Friday by Melanie Griffin, secretary of the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, who dropped by to participate in an impromptu ribbon-cutting.
Griffin read a proclamation praising owners Fay Sarshory and Ayten Hooper for their "determination to pursue a dream and connect with the residents and visitors of the great state of Florida."
Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington and Debbie Cotton, CEO of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce, also participated, along with Sarshory's cousin, Maryam Ghyabi-White, owner of Ghyabi Consulting & Management.
"We appreciated everyone coming," said Sarshory.
The beachside cafe is at 156 E. Granada Blvd.
Sarshory said the cafe's goal is to "expose locals to Persian and Turkish cultures beyond any political associations."
Soraya Cafe offers Turkish and Persian desserts − including baklava, Turkish-baked rice pudding, and Persian homemade cakes − as well as Persian breakfast items, Turkish simit (similar to bagels), soups, salads and panini sandwiches. It also serves Turkish coffee and other espresso and tea drinks.
Soraya is Persian for "cluster of stars." It's also the name of the second wife of the last Shah of Iran. Queen Soraya enjoyed a brief career as an actress in the 1960s.
Sarshory is an Iranian native who, as a teen, fled with her family to the United States during the Islamic Revolution in 1979. She currently works as the broker/owner of Florida Property Experts in Ormond Beach.
Hooper is a veteran restaurateur who originally hails from Turkey.
The two met a few years ago when Sarshory became a customer at Hooper's then-Istanbul Turkish Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant on U.S. 1. Hooper has since sold the eatery.
The two became friends and started talking about someday starting a coffee shop together.
When the building that previously housed a quilt shop became available, Sarshory quickly leased it and invited Hooper to become partners in opening Soraya Cafe. This is Sarshory's first time as a restaurateur.
"(Hooper) is the creative touch behind the food. I did the (interior) design," said Sarshory.
Sarshory said it was all Ghyabi-White's doing.
"I received a call from Melanie's office on Thursday saying she was heading to Jacksonville (from Tallahassee) for an event on Friday and wanted to know if there were any businesses she could visit in Ormond Beach," said Ghyabi-White. "The mayor immediately made himself available as well, and Debbie Cotton did the same.
"As an engineer, I like to plan things. This was absolutely done with zero planning," she said. "It was really cool."
Soraya is open Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Mondays. The coffee house is also available for special events.
Downtown draws: New businesses bring new vitality to Ormond's East Granada Boulevard
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
New Grand Haven cafe opens with four day work week WZZM13.com
Instagram / 85cbakerycafe
85°C Bakery Café's Buena Park, California location.
Taiwan-based coffee chain 85°C Bakery Café will make its San Antonio debut in November. The store is under development 12710 W I-10, near Camp Bullis, according to a June 19 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The 3,630-square-foot space will churn out coffee brewed with Guatemalan beans at a piping hot 185 degrees Fahrenheit — or 85 degrees Celsius. The chain's creators found that to be the “perfect brewing temperature for espresso coffee,” hence its name, according to its website.
Each 85°C location offers more than 50 varieties of pastries baked in house, including basic coffee shop fare such as Danish pastries and milk breads, according to the company’s online menu. More adventurous guests can also expect a slew of Taiwanese specialties using ingredients popular in the East Asian country, such as red bean bread, taro puff pastry and ube bread.
The chain's locations also offers savory options such as garlic cheese bread and potato croquettes, the latter of which it describes as chewy bread filled with potato, corn and veggie bacon and covered in breadcrumbs.
85°C operates two Austin-area stores as well as a handful near Dallas and Irving. Construction on the San Antonio shop will begin Aug. 15 and be completed in mid-November, according to the company's state filing.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Instagram / 85cbakerycafe
85°C Bakery Café's Buena Park, California location.
Taiwan-based coffee chain 85°C Bakery Café will make its San Antonio debut in November. The store is under development 12710 W I-10, near Camp Bullis, according to a June 19 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The 3,630-square-foot space will churn out coffee brewed with Guatemalan beans at a piping hot 185 degrees Fahrenheit — or 85 degrees Celsius. The chain's creators found that to be the “perfect brewing temperature for espresso coffee,” hence its name, according to its website.
Each 85°C location offers more than 50 varieties of pastries baked in house, including basic coffee shop fare such as Danish pastries and milk breads, according to the company’s online menu. More adventurous guests can also expect a slew of Taiwanese specialties using ingredients popular in the East Asian country, such as red bean bread, taro puff pastry and ube bread.
The chain's locations also offers savory options such as garlic cheese bread and potato croquettes, the latter of which it describes as chewy bread filled with potato, corn and veggie bacon and covered in breadcrumbs.
85°C operates two Austin-area stores as well as a handful near Dallas and Irving. Construction on the San Antonio shop will begin Aug. 15 and be completed in mid-November, according to the company's state filing.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
A cafe owner working up to 60 hours a week has opened up on the "tough" reality of navigating the cost of living crisis as a new report lays bare the financial struggles.
Adam Thomsen, who has owned and operated Dovetail on Overend in Brisbane for almost a decade, said the first six months of this year were his hardest yet.
"It's been tough. There's no beating around the bush," he told SkyNews.com.au.
"My wife and I have been doing this for about nine years and the period from the start of January to now is the hardest we've had."
Mr Thomsen's comments come as a new report from accounting software company Xero showed 60 per cent of small businesses in Australia are already experiencing cash-flow problems.
The report found over a quarter of those surveyed had been forced to dip into their personal savings to keep their business afloat.
While 34 per cent were unable to pay themselves due to tough financial conditions.
The majority of businesses blamed inflation for damaging their cash-flow, with almost a quarter saying it had an "extreme impact" on their ability to generate revenue.
Most were expecting little improvement in the next six months, with 55 per cent predicting inflation to have a "high impact" on cash-flow going into the second half of the year.
Mr Thomsen said recession predictions and the "doom and gloom" in the media meant it was only a matter of time before consumer sentiment shifted and shoppers begun to reign in their spending.
A fall in customer numbers meant he had been forced to take out ads on social media "to remind people we're here," putting strain on his already tightening budget.
"This is the first time we've had to use boosting ads on Facebook," he said.
"Up until now our growth has been organic, we had a good product and people came because of that.
"This year we've had to have a weekly advertising budget just to remind people we're here."
Compounding the problems is inflation, which had sent his costs soaring, jumping 20 to 25 per cent in a year while revenue began to flag.
The price of milk, a staple for cafe owners, had risen "100 per cent" over the last three to four years he said, presenting a major challenge to profits.
Costs are now so tight Mr Thomsen is electing not to replace staff when they leave, with he and his wife picking up extra hours to compensate.
"My wife and I have had to take on a lot more work," he said.
"We're working 50 to 60 hour weeks because we haven't replaced people who have left.
"It's been very hard on both of us."
Almost half of those surveyed in the Xero report said they were concerned about their business' financial failure.
While 45 per cent said they were worried about their own financial future.
Mr Thomsen was not yet at that point, but said he was considering "any and all options" as he planned for the future.
"We're just evaluating our financial position very closely," he said.
"I'm looking at any and all options to turn our situation around."
He echoed the view of many when he criticised the efforts of policy makers attempting to tackle the problem, saying they had not done much "good" for anyone.
"I don't see that there has been a great reaction at all," he said.
"It makes me question why there we had to have so many interest rate increases.
"I don't see that it's done any good for anyone."
Mr Thomsen said closures were already underway and could get worse if "unsustainable" business conditions persist.
"There's going to be a bit of carnage," he said.
"We're already seeing cafes closing down.
"People are walking away because it's unsustainable."
Xero reported that 60 per cent of small businesses lacked confidence they could weather a financial shock.
A display of offerings at 85°C Bakery Cafe.
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst N/Hearst Newspapers via Getty ImagPopular Taiwanese chain 85°C Bakery Cafe has locations in Dallas, Houston, and Austin, where it serves up fluffy desserts, savory breads, and an assortment of coffee and teas. The international brand has set up shops all around the globe, and now, 85°C finally has its sights set on San Antonio.
85°C Bakery Cafe's upcoming San Antonio location, a first in the city for the chain, popped up on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation website on June 19. The address for the new 85°C Bakery Cafe is listed as 12710 I-10, San Antonio, TX 78230, at the University Square at De Zavala commercial center. That places the new bakery in the same shopping strip as HuHot Mongolian Grill and Tiger's Chinese Cuisine.
Construction for the San Antonio 85°C Bakery Cafe location is set to start on August 15, with an estimated completion date of November 15. That means San Antonians will have to wait a little longer till we can try 85°C Bakery Cafe locally.
Until then, we can peruse the online menu, which lists out 85°C Bakery Cafe's offerings. Breads like the pork sung bun, the mango custard bun, and the taro mochi bun are at the top of my list of things to try, as well as a handful of desserts, such as the strawberry cream cake, the coconut custard sponge rolls, and the signature 85°C egg tarts. The drink menu is just as enticing, with smoothies and boba lattes calling my name.
Find it:12710 I-10, San Antonio, TX 78230
takanadalagi.blogspot.com Two new sibling bars are opening in far south Austin sometime this year. There’s cafe and cocktail bar Drifters S...
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25244079/4.png)
