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 The
News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
June 29,
2005
Final Edition, p.4
Trends Perk up Coffeehouses
by Greg Cox
...........................
As new coffeehouses continue to perk up all over the
landscape, newcomers are coming up with inventive ways to
set themselves apart from the competition.
In Carrboro, for instance, Padgett Station (929-0445,
www.padgettstation.com) doesn't even wait until you're
inside to begin winning you over. The wooing begins with
the curb appeal of the building that houses the
coffeehouse at 401 E. Main St., a charmingly converted
filling station flanked by an inviting patio.
Like a growing number of coffeehouses, Padgett Station
brews coffees made exclusively with organically grown and
fairly traded beans, locally roasted by Larry's Beans. But
owners Rachel Rose and Emmett Fahringer have upped the
ante, applying the "organically grown" guideline to
virtually everything they sell.
That includes Belgian chocolates and truffles, artisanal
cheeses (including goat cheeses from Elodie Farms in
nearby Rougemont), scones and wines by the glass or
bottle. Chai is not made with a prepared mix but from
scratch, as are a globally diverse assortment of
beverages, including mango lassi, banana frappe and Thai
iced tea.
Fireside Coffee (467-7008), which opened recently in
Cary's Cornerstone Village at the intersection of High
House Road and Davis Drive, can't make such a sweeping
"all-organic" claim. But owners John and Suzann Everhart
can boast that their beans are 100 percent organic and
fair- trade.
The Everharts would also like to point out that their shop
is in no way affiliated with Michigan-based Fireside
Coffee, a mass wholesaler specializing in flavored beans.
And if Fireside's pastries aren't organic, they are
locally made -- judging by the popularity of the cinnamon
rolls in particular, they're pretty tasty, too. Other
dunkable delights include muffins (blueberry and
cranberry-chocolate chip, to name two), eclairs, coffee
cake and glazed lemon pound cake.
Also in Cary, Mark Pisacane has opened Caffe Kilmayne
(342-5251) in the ReMax building at 51 Kilmayne Drive,
near the Kildaire Farm Road intersection. If the name
sounds familiar, that's likely because Pisacane is the son
of Ralph Pisacane, who owned Caffe Piazza in Crabtree
Valley Mall (and before that, in Cary's MacGregor Village)
until it closed recently.
With the opening of Caffe Kilmayne, the younger Pisacane
is reviving the spirit of the original Caffe Piazza, which
was essentially a combination coffeehouse and small wine
shop. The caffeinated half of the offering, in this case,
is represented by coffees and espresso drinks made with
beans roasted by Raleigh roaster Tradewinds Coffee.
The wine shop offers about 300 labels, with an emphasis on
wines from Italy and California. Wine tastings with light
hors d'oeuvres are offered Monday-Friday from 4:30 to 7
p.m., and catered wine-tasting dinners are frequently
scheduled.
Meanwhile in downtown Raleigh, Peter and Holly Yuan have
opened La Joy Coffee & Tea House (832-6768) in the
Progress Energy Building at 130 E. Davie St.
To distinguish their shop from the competition, the Yuans
have opted to surf the wave of bubble tea, the trendy cool
tea drink that combines fruity flavors and tapioca pearls.
The shop offers a handful of flavors such as almond,
honeydew, Thai tea and banana, which may be mixed and
matched to create interesting (and, one can only imagine,
bizarre) blends.
The shop brews coffees with beans from local roaster Bean
Traders and offers a limited selection of pastries from
Durham-based Sweet Jane's. La Joy features Mighty Leaf
brand teas, which are neither locally made nor the loose
teas preferred by purists. They do represent the premium
end of the tea bag market and are worthy representatives
of the "Tea" part of the shop's name. What's more, they'll
probably still be around when the bubble tea fad has
burst.
LOAD-DATE: June 29, 2005
Mighty Leaf Tea Company
136 Mitchell Blvd.
San Rafael, CA 94903
Tel:
415.491.2650
Fax: 415.472.1780
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