Allie’s Philosophy Espresso, Lincoln City, OR

I’m not on the road right now, just home in Denver enjoying the hourly weather changes hoping it’s nice & sunny when I go to the Colorado Rockies v. Arizona Diamondbacks day game on Wednesday.

Alice’s Philosophy Espresso, Lincoln City, OR

However, I have friends that are travelling and will occasionally send me a photo of a coffeehouse they meet.  Each one is special and expresses a bit of the owner’s personality.  This one is from Doug.  He goes to the Oregon Coast once a year to breath in some of the best air on the planet (lucky man).

I visited their Facebook page and discovered the owner is 24 year-old  Allie.  She opened the doors in 2011 and loves philosophy so much that she “created an espresso business to implement a main marketing concept of developing exciting and interactive philosophical thought and conversation.”

Thanks for being uniquely you, Allie!!  My next journey on Highway 101 will include a stophere.

Allie’s Philosophy Espresso

5998 SE Highway 101

Lincoln City, OR 97367

(541) 994-0002

Allie’sPhilosphy Espresso Facebook Page

 

Peace, Lisa

Ground Control Coffeehouse, Goodyear AZ

Afterburner Roast by Ground Control

1964 was a great year!!  One of my favorite events during this very historical time in our country was my birth at Luke Air Force Base near the White Tank Mountains of Arizona.  LOL.

Last week I coerced my Mom into taking me to Base so I could reconnect with my past; to see what had changed and what had stayed the same after so many years.  Our timing was perfect!  Lucky for us we were able to see some of the new F-35 jets fly in formation, peel off one at a time then land one the flight line.  As a kid, I remember parking next to the road at the end of the line watching the F-15s and F-16s land one right after another.  I could sit there for hours … the precision, the sound, the strength, and oddly magical … it has always given me a thrill!

Still on a natural high, we took Litchfield Road south past the lower entrance and guess what we found?  One of the biggest independent coffeehouses I’ve seen yet: Ground Control, owned by one of the training pilots at Luke, Sean Rassas and his wife Tara.  They have successfully brought together their love of coffee, community, food, world class beer and wine.  This is “where community happens”!

Luke AFB

They also roast their own coffee daily right there in the entry space that is both their roastery and the front counter.  This multi-purpose room also serves as storage for their bags of green beans and the espresso machine where the baristas tamp out yummy shots of java.  They recently delivered a select roast to Oskar Blues, a small brewery in northern Colorado.  to brew up their very own coffee stout.

GET OUT OF HERE!!!  How cool is that?  ~Lisa

Ground Control

4860 N Litchfield Rd.
Goodyear, AZ 85395
(623) 535-9066

http://www.groundxcontrol.com

 

Terra Java, Arcadia Neighborhood, Phoenix AZ

At the counter @ Terra Java

Terra Java, Phoenix AZ

Thanks to my mom’s gift of gab, I got the chance to chat with Omea Eaglerider, co-owner of this community gathering place in Central Phoenix.

Omea is a chef-turned-coffeehouse-owner.  She had been leasing the kitchen in this coffeehouse, formerly Mama Java’s for eighteen months.   Mama Java’s had been in business for eight years, but due to personal issues the owner needed to close the business.  He turned to Omea, and a year ago offered her the opportunity to takeover the business.  

Within 48 hours she said YES and combined her catering company “Terra Bites” with Mama Java’s creating “Terra Java Coffee House” where she can sell her world-themed foods to her coffee customers every day.  

Coffee choice:  They sell coffee varieties from Passport Coffee, roasted locally in the Scottsdale Airpark.  Also offered are many other local and healthy food options.

Barista LOVE!  They just sent one of their baristas to an international competition.  I love it when owners support their employee’s passions, too.  

Lovin’ the local flavor of Arizona!

Lisa

Terra Java Coffee House

3619 E. Indian School Rd
Phoenix AZ 85018
602.840.5282

http://www.terrajava.biz

 

This is what its about … real people!

My Coffee House has terrific food & coffee & they’re ever so caring

From an editorial in The Laconia Daily Sun, Laconia, NH (photo from Yelp)

To the editor,

This is the season that soup is quite warming, that is unless you drop it.
I was leaving one of my favorite lunch stops, My Coffee House, when I went to reposition my hand and the bag slipped and crashed right by the entryway. Shrimp and Roasted Corn Chowder poured out from the bag — my four dollar lunch, gone. Scooping to get up what I can, the owner of the store leans over my shoulder and says, “We’ll get you another one”.
I am so grateful I had to write this letter to the paper to give a public, “Thank You!”
Not only does My Coffee House have terrific food and coffee but the family owned business is ever so caring! It is not a surprise they are in their 4th year open! I’ll continue to get my lunch, especially the yummy soup from the family of John and Cheryl, and their son Brandon, Morin, at My Coffee House in Laconia. I had already left the store, so for them to be so nice deserves public attention. 
Valerie Kimball
Laconia

Wild-Flour Bakery, Cafe & Espresso, Lead SD

This space used to be an Eagles Lodge once upon a time and now is home to a fabulous bakery owned by a mother-daughter team.  Mom was baking in the kitchen and her daughter The space is large enough to house the entire Denver Broncos football team and they have the sweets to satisfy their taste buds.  My favorite was the cinnamon and sugar raised twists …. just like my grandma on my mother’s side used to make at her bakery in Glendale, AZ.

My father, Fred, was raised here in Lead, South Dakota.  I remember when it was a community full of people going places and doing things.  The economy started to slow down when they legalized gambling in Deadwood, its sister town, but it came to a screeching halt when the Homestake Gold Mine closed in 2002.  Now Downtown Lead only gets a few visitors as they are passing through exploring the Black Hills.

This local family took a leap of faith and decided it would be a good time to invest in a business.  And they are not alone.   A block or so down the street is a building that will house a micro-brewery to be started by a family from Oregon.  Then a block from that is the old Masonic Lodge, the one my grandfather and grandmother were members of for decades.

Today is auction day at the Lodge and the streets are lined with cars.  The building and all of its’ belongings were sold to Dakota Plains Auctions as their new primary location for their very successful family business.

As you can see, things are starting to stir again in Lead.   I love that my Dad’s hometown is making a resurgence!

Lovin’  life, Lisa