They already serve espresso ranked in quality the best two percent of the top ten percent of the world’s coffee, and now the Naked Lounge has also been dishing out a fair share of awesome talent, as well, in their recently opened Downtown Venue. With shows Thursday through Sunday, there’s a good chance you’re somewhere near this coffeeshop on one of those nights and there is no reason not to pay a minimal cover charge to hear one of these bands. It’s a place to have a beer and meet some interesting people, even if you only talk to the personable staff, some of whom you can also see performing on stage. Admittedly I’m here to promote my girlfriend’s show to be held on April 23, which is fa

How well do you know your coffee? From the grinder to the filter (bleached or brown), from the water to the method of brewing (Mr. Coffee or French press), Temple Coffee and master barista Ben Lance have the answer. Thursday, Temple Coffee informed the java-loving public with its "The Art of Brewing" event at the newest 2829 S St. location. The event started off examining the flaws of the common coffeemaker notoriously associated with cramped hotel rooms and finished with what looked liked, at first glance, a chemistry set equipped with Bunsen burner and all. The common home coffeemaker produced a light-flavored cup of coffee that the crowd felt lacked the desired viscosity. As a novice,

The City of Sacramento halted efforts to mount Old Soul Co. sign Thursday morning. Oak Park, Sacramento, CA February 11, 2010 Excited patrons of the new Old Soul Co. location in Oak Park were eager to see the iconic glistening new sign ready to go up Thursday morning and so was the crew. That eagerness was squelched when a call came to the Alpha Signs' crew, from the city, to halt. The building at 35th and Broadway is a historical building and though the old Starbucks sign was in the same location, the city won't allow the sign installers to drill new holes in the historic bricks nor is the sign allowed to have any exposed electrical cable. Furthermore, the city wants the sign above the

Old Soul Co opened their third Sacramento location Thursday morning in Oak Park. An old familiar spot has a new face in Oak Park and the community is well pleased. Starbucks shut down its 35th and Broadway location last year, much to the disapointment of many. The location was a community hub where many gathered daily to socialize, conduct business or just relax with a good book and a cup of coffee. Despite many letters from patrons voicing their conerns to Starbucks corporate office of the closure, the doors were finally closed in September of 2009. Knowing the community cenergy the coffee house brought regular goers better known there as "The Usual Suspects" were confident something go

Small business owners in Sacramento plan to hold on tight in 2010 for what appears to be another tough year. Several said they're doing their best just to keep their businesses going as the recession continues to waterboard the local economy. The owners of a local chain of taquerias said they will do what it takes to keep their heads above water for the next year. "That's been my theme since 2008: survival mode," said José Cortéz, who co-owns 10 La Fiesta Taqueria and La Favorita Taqueria restaurants in the Sacramento region. He and his family, including his mother and a brother who manages one La Fiesta, come from the Mexican state of Jalisco. The restaurants serve food of the Los Altos

The Jewish Federation is celebrating their move to Midtown Sacramento by throwing a big party for a cause! The Big Nosh is a gourmet food and pub crawl benefiting 5 local charities where participants will get a chance to eat and drink their way across the grid sampling appetizers and cocktails at 30 restaurants and coffee shops. Tickets are $36/person and Crawl Captains may register at www.thebignosh.com and earn their ticket for free by recruiting 10 or more people to their team. Teams will start at different locations at the same time in a "round robin" format and experience Midtown as it's meant to be experienced: walking! Calling all Crawl Captains...register now at www.thebignosh.com

Sean Kohmescher has come up with a winning business model when it comes to his two Temple coffee shops, but don't call him a businessman. "My identity is not a businessman," he said. "My identity is someone who is passionate about coffee and tea." Someone wanting to follow in his footsteps might think twice about replicating the road to his success. Kohmescher spent eight months building the first location. "I built everything. If it's not a chair and it's not a couch, I built it," he said. Although Kohmescher has a degree in interior graphic design, he has no formal background in architecture. He couldn't afford an architect at that time, so he drew the plans up himself -- sketch afte

It's that time of year again - time for "Best Restaurants," brought to you by Sacramento Magazine. After reading the readers' picks for each category, it made me wonder whether the results would be different for readers of The Sacramento Press. Our focus has been primarily on events and coverage of things in the Grid, whereas Sacramento Magazine covers a larger demographic including the suburbs. There were four categories that stood out to me in Sacramento Magazine's Best Restaurants: Best Burrito, Best Pizza, Best Burger and Best Coffeehouse. I live in the Grid and therefore have my own biases about restaurants that live in Downtown and Midtown. I prefer restaurants in this area to tho

About 300 people milled in and out of the newest location of Temple coffeehouse at 2829 S St. for the grand opening Saturday evening. The new coffeehouse is the second Temple location in Sacramento. The front area of the building was crowded with young people, business professionals and families mingling. The back room of the café was opened up as a space to snack and play darts. Drinks were free for those attending the private opening event. Anything the customer wanted, the baristas were happy to make. The second location was well-received by community members. “I was so excited that we have an authentic coffee shop in our neighborhood,” said Ann Hamilton, a board member for the New

"Pretension" has become a common term used to define most Sacramento coffee shops. Visitors have said they feel like an outsider in most joints they enter. It is as though the moment they enter, the looks of the regulars remind them they are obvious newcomers. Yelp has several reviews of some of my favorite stops in Sacramento, which exemplify this attitude. There is a frustration with the "hipper-than-thou" baristas and the "fake small talk" of the regulars. There is a perception that these places are "grungy, like their patrons." When most are indignant about the regulars, I am asking how I might become one. Though I am not looking to cut my jeans into shorts and take the brakes off

Sean Kohmescher discovered the coffee culture as a beach barista in San Diego. The 23-year-old wanted a job on the beach, and he liked coffee. He became a barista at an outdoor café on Pacific Beach, and then what started out as just a fun job turned into a passion. "I kind of fell in love with the culture," he said. Kohmescher dreamed of opening his own coffeehouse someday. It wasn't until he began developing his palate while working in San Francisco's fine-dining scene that he really became passionate about coffee and tea. After moving to Sacramento, he opened Temple, a coffee and tea house, in 2005 in a storefront at 1014 10th St., once home to Levinson's Books. Now this 35-year-ol

I see you all the time at Tupelo Coffee House, but you don’t know me. We both like it that way. Neither of us will exchange a word, but I have created your brief back-story for my own entertainment. It is fiction, but this is the nature of our relationship. I have 900 Facebook friends, and I frequent all the same spots, but I do not know anyone. We work here, meet here, and play here. When home is where the couch is, we spend most of our waking hours out and about; returning home only to crash for the night. Time is calculated in semesters, leases, and rental agreements instead of years or friendships. Neighbors have come to represent mysteries rather than faces or lives. Forgotten are t

Naked Lounge is bringing a new buzz to downtown, and it isn’t just strong coffee. The local coffeehouse will be adding about 500 square feet of live entertainment space to its new location in The Offices at RetroLodge at the corner of H and 11th Streets in Downtown Sacramento. The new space will be open by early summer and will host after-hours events including live music and open mic sessions. The timing could not be better - just as Concerts in the Park are winding down, Naked Lounge will be serving up an eclectic mix of entertainment just a few blocks away. Andy Ekstrom, who manages leasing for The Offices at RetroLodge, says that he is eagerly anticipating the completion of the new v

Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist, coined the term “the third place” to refer to the place besides home and work where people spend the most time. The idea of the third place is a key aspect to building a community. For some Tupelo patrons, their third place is quickly becoming this trendy local coffee house.   Tupelo is located on Elvas Avenue, tucked behind 56th and H. A mile away from Sac State, most students could walk or bike to this location with ease. Highly recommended by a friend and trusted coffee fanatic, this branch of the local Naked Coffee chain did not disappoint. First of all, this is a great setting for work because of the noise factor; rarely anyone is too loud. Most

When the Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation decided to shutter its Oak Park store on Stockton Boulevard, it sent shock waves throughout the neighborhood. The Oak Park coffee shop is more than just a place to grab a cup of Joe; it's a community hang out. Civic groups meet there, art lovers visiting the 40 Acres gallery next door linger during Second Saturday, and it's one of the few places in North Oak Park where neighbors can get together. Vice Mayor Lauren Hammond, Mayor Johnson, and community activists have been in touch with Starbucks to ask the company to reverse its decision. So far, the corporation isn't budging, saying it needed to close the store (along with more than 400 nation

On the tour I have now coined "sip the grid", the first stop was the Old Soul Coffee house (the L Street variety) I found it on my lunch roaming in midtown. Located in an alley behind L Street Old Soul seems to have a quiet entrance. When walking in you will notice the grandness with over 20 foot ceilings and a rustic warehouse feel it feels larger than you average coffe house. Your eyes will catch that the Old Soul has no walls seperating you from the kitchen and coffee roasting station. An interesting design that makes the Old Soul feel very open and larger. (Another perk..The Old Soul roasts there own coffee right in front of you) When I walked up to the counter I was greated by a the s

  While mid sip in a Midtown coffeehouse early one morning (let's be honest, it wasn't that early), I had an idea. If I spend most of my time enjoying and finding new places to enjoy a warm cup, why not do something resourceful while I am at it? That is when the idea began to brew for The Sacramento Coffee Tour. It is a comprehensive tasting tour that will unfold over the next few weeks, aiming to narrate a story of all that the Sacramento grid has to offer. Now before I get into the details, let me tell you that I am a student and work in Midtown. So some of my tastes in a coffeehouse may vary from yours, but this series will aim to be as objective as possible.   First, this won’t be

We're not sure why, but the sign in the window says it all: Sargent's Coffee at Alhambra and L Street on the edge of the Grid, is no more. Along with Old Soul, Naked Lounge and Temple, Sargent's served top of the line coffee for discriminating tastes, in an environment that was light and airy, with big leather couches and jazz on the stereo. I liked 'em because they used Ambience soy milk, which has no soy taste. Highly recommended. The place wasn't open long - maybe two years, probably not that long. Other business in that spot, notably Red Square (?), had trouble. But Sargent's Elk Grove location didn't make it even that long before closing a few months ago. Perhaps there IS a limit t

One of the most well-known hotspots in midtown Sacramento is undoubtedly the Naked Lounge on Q Street. Now, as of last week, downtowners can enjoy the same Naked proximity with the newly opened Naked Lounge located at the corner of 11th and H. True to its name, Naked Lounge on H Street also gets its coffee from Naked Roasting on 36th and Broadway. "We roast all of our coffee and espresso; whatever coffee, we only serve one particular coffee at a time, and then our decaf," says Naked Lounge barista Justin Short. "We do it all at 36th and Broadway." "We work really hard to keep the coffee consistent, so that people know they're getting good coffee no matter what," he adds. But that's wher

Last night was an amazing meandering ride from Downtown through Midtown for the 1st Annual Bikeramento Crawl. Set the scene of a moving banner from sanctuary to sanctuary in the light rain. It all begins with the religious experience of a cup of mojo at Temple Fine Coffee & Tea. The loose Bikeramentans gather and awkwardly introduce themselves to the team. It’s to be expected. Who are these bike-crazy folks, these Spokes People, who believe that they can influence city planning and have fun doing it? Ah….soak up that caffeine. A fine whiff of a single origin espresso parting the perfect foam of that cappuccino. David Barton shows up with the sharp photographer for Sacramento Press. And