| Mon - Fri | 6-6 |
| Sat | 7-6 |
| Sun | 8-6 |
645 Bancroft @ Dutton |
Coffee, Culture & Community™ 365 Days a Year |
 |
BuzzHere you'll find the comments and links to Zocalo from around the web. If you find a reference we've missed or a broken link, please let us know! CommentsFebruary 2nd, 2004 Margarita Lacabe http://www.voxpublica.org/marga Zocalo is this great cafe that we have in San Leandro, one of the things that make San Leandro a great place to live. It's very comfy, with a couch and a few lounge chairs in addition to tables and chairs, has a small play section for toddlers, and offers a myriad of magazines and newspapers to read and free wireless internet for its patrons. Drinks are nicely priced (it is cheaper than Starbucks, but then again, what isn't?) and it's really a great place to hang out.
This weekend I went to the grand opening of a coffeeshop in San Leandro. The proprietor of the shop is a dear friend of mine, and a former co-worker. He had pretty much everything you might want from a career in the Silicon Valley. He worked for a company he loves, on technology he cares about deeply. He has an extraordinary reach of influence in the industry, and the respect of his peers and co-workers. He also made a fairly impressive salary. And he walked away from all of that to open a coffeeshop. I don’t think I can fairly represent all of his reasons for making this change, but I know at least some of them. He decided that having an improved quality of life is worth more than the demands of the High Tech industry. He decided walking to work is more important to him than driving two hours each day. He decided that working in his neighborhood and attempting to grow a sense of community is more important to him than arriving home at 8:00 each night (or later) and never knowing his neighbors. Tim is my hero. I hope he achieves everything he could hope for with his new venture. If you’re in the San Leandro area, stop by for a cuppa. Tuesday, April 15, 2003 I spent an afternoon with Tim Holmes at his new venture, the Zocalo Coffee House in San Leandro. The unfathomable energy he used to pour into his former job at Apple, which he modestly called “shortstop” but I always thought of more as “nexus”, is now being channeled into development of an unvirtual community center and the sale of tasty beverages. He seems considerably happier, and Apple’s great loss is San Leandro’s great gain. I want to go back when they’re running the roaster. Derrick Schneider’s Web Log "An Obsession with Food" Zocalo It is not uncommon now to read stories of people fleeing the technology industry and exploring second careers. But, usually, they’re doing so because they got laid off from a dot-com job and have run out of options. Far rarer to find someone who has willingly quit a high-powered job at a big stable company. One such person is my good friend Tim, who left a great job at Apple to open a coffee shop in San Leandro. Or, more correctly, to purchase an existing coffee shop. This might seem an odd change, but Tim is one of the most gregarious, community-minded people I know, and his coffee shop, still in its infancy, already reflects that. Even the name, Zocalo Coffeehouse, is derived from a Mexican term for a town square (specifically the large town square in Mexico City), and implies a gathering place, a home away from home. There are board games to play, a kid’s area with toys and colorful furniture, free wireless Internet access, and comfy chairs and couches in addition to the standard cafe-style table/chair arrangement. Artwork from local artists hangs on the wall, available for purchase or admiration. Poetry readings and children’s story times are being planned already. People wave to each other, say hi to friends they haven’t seen in a while, and inevitably, chat with Tim. Everyone feels welcome, and it’s easy to get the sense that Tim remembers you and takes an interest in what you’re up to. That, of course, is because he does. Tim’s doing other things right, as well. There’s a roaster on the premises and he’s working on developing a signature blend, and he’s looking to carry artisanal and organic products, such as Scharffen Berger chocolates and Fair Trade coffee. The kind of place you want to support, and want to do well. Sound nice? It is. It’s what coffee houses should be, and it’s what they so often are not. And this is only a month into its operation; I am eager to see what Tim does with the place in the future. While the coffee house has been open a month or so, the official ribbon-cutting will take place on February 8 at 11am. There’ll be samples to try and people to meet. While many of you are not local, many of you are, and it’s worth checking Zocalo out, even if you can’t make the ribbon-cutting. LinksEZGoal HotSpots Wireless Locations Local2Me Alameda County Green Businesses San Leandro Chamber of Commerce
|