The best cup
Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 30, 2002
The sun shines through the glass windows reflecting off the shiny metal of the counter stools of the cafe. In the back, on striped wooden booth against the walls, a man and two women sit and sip dark hot coffee.
Across town two friends meet and converse over coffee, cream cheese and warm bagels.
Not far from there, a woman sits on her own reading a book and drinks her coffee.
It is a daily ritual practiced by many. For some it's routine, for others a necessity, even a luxury, to start the day.
Where people go for their morning coffee seems to depend in various factors including location, coffee quality, the staff, the cost or a combination. The atmosphere, being a significant characteristic, varies from place to place. Each possesses a quality that keeps their customers coming back for more.
"In a town like Austin you have a different clientele. It's like an island. If costumers enjoy your product you will have loyal customers," said Dan Hooker owner of one of the two Dunkin Donuts in Minnesota.
People come in an out, one after another. Hooker said people obviously enjoy the variety of the donuts and bagels but the true addiction is the coffee. His in-store crowd settles from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and coffee breakers are somewhere in the 40- to 60-year range.
"They come from all walks of life. Dunkin Donuts has a fanatical following for the coffee," Hooker said.
Kandy Kuns and Pam Severson, prefer Dunkin Donuts for its location and prices.
"Years ago this was the only place. There was nothing else to go to," Kuns said.
Depending on their schedule the women meet through the week before heading to work.
"There other places in town but they're more expensive. We would not be able to do this as often," Severson said.
A few blocks north at the Brickhouse a man orders a coffee to go. The motif of the 1858 house is a mixture of european/scandinavian style.
"The customers are a spread-out group. I think people like it because it is different." owner Adam Ansorge said.
Ansorge says people go to the Brickhouse to try something new. The place hosts art from local artists and crafters. One of the Brickhouse's unique features is its coffee products.
The purchase of the coffee is between the farmer and the roaster. The benefits of this, Ansorge explained, is that the farmers get a better price for their product.
Trying something new is not a necessity for Bill and Merry Diederich and Betty McDonald. They have been going to the Sterling Cafe since it opened. Six days a week for breakfast the couple and Betty, Merry's sister meet routinely.
"It's what gets you going in the morning. We have decaf though, cause we can't get going too fast," Merry said, smiling.
"We worked in another restaurant for 15 years and the customers followed us here." Bev Skalicky, owner of the restaurant, said.
The Sterling Cafe is their second home.
"It's so close to our house. Our friends always know where we are," Betty said.
If routine is the thing, Kenny's Oak Grill is the place to see. Costumers line up at the door as early as 6:30 a.m. every day.
"They return around 8:30 a.m. and again around 2:30," said one of the waitresses.
The group of mostly men and a couple of women, fills the counter from one end to the other. Through the past 20 years it has become a social routine.
"We don't have to read the paper, they read it and tell us what's going in the city," a waitress said.
Kenny Knutson owner of the restaurant, said when the restaurant moved from across the street, the costumers loyally moved with it.
In the downtown scene, the Coffee House on Main has some attractions itself.
Across the room, sits a younger version of the Sterling Cafe group. Jerry and Linda Reinartz and their friend Cliff Wylde met every morning before work. They have been meeting for coffee the past six years.
"We would be very disappointed if this place was not here," Jerry said.
The group has known each other for 40 years and find the location, the atmosphere and the friendly people reasons to come back.
Even though the locales, are significantly different in space, look and theme, they attract all sorts of people for one single reason -- a good cup of coffee.
Roxana Orellana can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:roxana.orellana@austindailyherald.com