Yea, my cousin was actually looking to buy this place and settle here but may instead be opting for Centralia.

C-Span called the current owners of the kickstand and they want their boring back. But seriously, I miss the old kickstand.

Since it had become a regular stop of mine (and the kids), I can add that I learned through osmosis months ago that this was in the works. The following may not be fact, but the birds I’ve spoken to have said that the recent owners had never run such a business and thought it would be…well, it wasn’t what they thought it would be. Which would explain a previous comment. The word I heard on the street was that the new owners have experience which could help re-root it, but one person I talked to was wary that the new owner’s…profile…would remove it even further from its open-minded funkiness. This is all rumor, mind you. I really hope it stays around, and be like it used to be.

Art on Center is the “second art gallery” that is being renamed the a.o.c. gallery and moving into the Kulture Lab’s former space.

It seems like ever since the new smoking law came out the Kickstand just hasnt been the same. It probably coincided with ownership changes. As long as they still have free wi-fi and bikes everywhere they can do whatever they want to it. Losing Tacoma icons is just something that goes along with “development” I suppose.

There is almost never a time when the Bostwick Tully’s isn’t packed. Hardly 50 yards away from the Tully’s was Mocha Mountain, even when Tully’s was packed you could swing a cat in there and not hit anyone. I guess when it comes down to it people are pretty particular about where they drink their coffee. I’ll mosey up to the Black Water when there is a line at Tully’s. I can hike up to the Black Water and get back with my coffee before the last person in line is being served at Tully’s and I’m a geezer that smokes far too much. I like the Black Water. It suits me. I think some people might have it right about the smoking ban, I understand that the drinking bone is connected to the smoking bone. Be that as it may, coffee shops do have to earn their clientele. There is more to the business than buying an expresso machine and opening the doors. Tully’s, though I hate to admit it, has done a splendid job of capturing the imagination of their customers, can’t say this really of Kick Stand, Black Water, or Mocha Mounain.

The owner of Cosmic & One Heart (Lamont) had told me a couple of months ago that he was looking at Kickstand. He also used to own One World, One Love down on the 9th Street strip that used to have !Heel, Tremmor’s & Christine’s Day Spa (all gone). If he is moving in, he should do alright with the place. He’s a pretty high-minded individual with a good sense of community.

I know that after Rich & Laurel left, the lady that bought the place came in from Puyallup. She really had no understanding of the neighborhood or the clientele she was picking up… just a bad mix all around. Here’s hopin’.

I guess the sad truth is there is a limit to how many coffee shops an area can support and we may just be seeing that. Wanting cool coffee shops to abound is not enough for them to stay in business. People have to support them and they need to be worthy of support. I think we will always have a coffee culture here in Tacoma and the northwest, but let’s not kid our selves that it is the only sign of civilization or cool. A good coffee shop is just one component of what makes a neighborhood a very desirable place. Coffee shops are great, but they aren’t everything.

I’ll chime in again, with a few additions or other observations.

To your first point, and though I’d love to support Tacoma roasters, I’d go outside of it for your beans. I like some of what AJ has done, but I’d like to see a variety of different espresso made in Tacoma as well. I have not seen what Blackwater has done with his coffee yet (going this weekend) but I feel disappointed every time I have an espresso drink made for me at Mandolin Cafe, and I just want to try his coffee made by a great, well trained barista.

I think that’s the key here, is finding experienced baristas who able to make great coffee, or at least new ones who are trained well and have a manager/owner who is devoted to the same. It’s a tough thing to do, and quality control is huge. That’s, like I said earlier, why I ended up not frequenting the Kickstand much anymore, because the quality, while using nice Cafe Vita coffee, was all over the map.

So far I’ve been impressed with Firehouse in the two times I’ve been there. Good coffee, my Americano was strong, great dark rich creama, and made efficiently. The other was the suprising Java Fusion down 6th Ave, not too far from the new Carl’s Jr. I didn’t expect much out of the place, but the owner has taken the Vivace beans and training to heart, and really committed herself to the coffee. I watched her coach and mentor her staff through making the coffee and she wasn’t afraid to have the barista remake the shot if it wasn’t quite right.

So here’s to holding out hope that Blackwater is great, that the new Kickstand space owners get it right, and that a great Tacoma coffee scene with a commitment to excellence sticks around.

I drove by there today and they’ve brown papered the windows. It’s going to be the One Heart Cafe. This will be owned by Lamont (owns Cosmic Coffee at the bus station and One Heart at SOTA)