Buckle Up For Caffeine Insanity*
Jan 31, 2010 St. Louis, coffee, missouri, restaurants
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| Pi’s 2-group Linea w/ PID rebuilt by Barry Jarrett–formerly of Riley’s. |
Due to the unfortunate closing of the Central West End location of Companion Bake House, today was to mark the opening of Chris Sommers’ new Pi Coffee Bar–located under the loft of Pi’s new Central West End location. Teaming up with Matt Herren and Debbie Sultan of Edwardsville’s Goshen Coffee and 222 Artisan Bakery, the plan was to begin carrying a full line of Goshen’s coffee and teas as well as Sultan’s award winning pastries.
Of course, to run a great coffee bar, you need a great manager and barista, and when the topic of who to run the bar came up last Thursday, Herren told Sommers there was only one choice: Alex Brooks. In a whirlwind of a day, the call went out, and an offer was made, mulled over, and accepted by Brooks.
For St. Louis coffee fans, this is great news. A more passionate coffee professional you will rarely find. It does, however, mean that the opening has been delayed as Sommers feels it wouldn’t be right to open without Brooks at the helm. Sommers is, after all, hoping to raise the level of what coffee can be in the Central West End saying about the Brooks acquisition, “I can’t afford him, but I can’t afford not too.”
Speaking with Brooks last week, he is currently putting the finishing touches on his employment in Portland and is excited for the opportunity to be back amongst his friends putting his mark on St. Louis coffee.
At this time, the plans are to now open Monday, February 8, with the hours being Monday-Saturday 6-11AM. Be sure to stop in to welcome Alex home.
Full Disclosure: Alex Brooks, Matt Herren, Chris Sommers, and Debbie Sultan are all friends of mine.
* The title is lifted from a text message Sommers sent to me.
Tags: 222 Artisan Bakery, Alex Brooks, Chris Sommers, coffee, Debbie Sultan, Goshen Coffee, Matt Herren, Pi
St. Louis Specific Updates to Food-Related Wikipedia Entries #1: Barista
Jan 27, 2010 MO, St. Louis, St. Louis Specific Updates to Food-Related Wikipedia Entries, Television, general food, missouri
While reading up on the scully cap I noticed, like many Wikipedia entries, not only was the included picture of poor quality, it was just some random dude with a stupid look on his face. Figuring he probably uploaded it himself, I’m embracing the power of the internet and am making accurate, St. Louis specific updates to food-related Wikipedia entries.
I begin with Barista for three reasons…
- There wasn’t a current barista photo.
- I love coffee and was trying to find an entry that was currently without a picture for sticking power.
- Although the barista in the photo, Alex Brooks, is no longer a barista in St. Louis, he is a friend of mine and often wears a scully cap–which I now know is more accurately called a flat cap.
Tags: Alex Brooks, barista, coffee, wikipedia
From the mountains of Panama and Ethiopia, to the urban-jungles of Portland and Chicago, journalist Michaele Weissman takes us behind the scenes for a look at the world of third-wave specialty coffee. How did we get to Starbucks, and where we go from here?