The host at a restaurant I ate at this week described it as a \u201cthird place.\u201d He pointed out a couple of people at the bar drinking coffee with their laptops open, three bearded businessmen sharing a booth and a vision of the world, and friends who\u2019d gathered together for lunch. When it comes to third places in the East Bay, we are spoiled for choice. I counted no less than four new cafes that have opened here within the last few months.<\/p>\n
Marin\u2019s Kitchen & Coffee\u2019s soft opening took place at the end of August. After IB\u2019s Hoagies closed, the landlord contacted James Woodard, who runs Haus of Chefs next door on 21st Street. Woodard is also the founder and owner of Smokin Woods BBQ, which he started in 2013. He pitched the idea of a breakfast and lunch cafe to his friend, DeShan Wiseman. Then they brought in their mutual friend, Harwell Lang, as a third business partner.<\/p>\n
Wiseman has a day job at PG&E, but he told me he currently handles inventory and supplies. \u201cI kind of curated the space,\u201d he said. \u201cI got a lot of the artwork and coordinated with the design of the spot.\u201d Lang, he said, is really into coffee. \u201cHe\u2019s a traveler, so he likes to go to different countries to try types of coffees from other parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woodard created the breakfast and lunch menu, but his barbecue only shows up in a pulled-pork sandwich. Wiseman noted that Marin\u2019s has \u201ca totally different vibe.\u201d All three business owners are from Oakland. \u201cI\u2019ve seen the change in Oakland,\u201d Wiseman said. \u201cReally after Covid, so many places are leaving but we still wanted to bring something that would be upscale to our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the past few years, Wiseman watched downtown Oakland turn into a ghost town. \u201cBut knowing that people were starting to come back to work, actually coming to their offices, we wanted to bring something\u2014coffee and matcha and things like that,\u201d he said. His daughters love matcha drinks and regularly come up with new flavors for the beverage menu.<\/p>\n
A few blocks away on 30th Street, Olivia Lee opened Olivia Coffee & Flower at the end of August. The cafe is easy to miss. If one runs into Petit Cafe up the hill, they\u2019ve passed it by. From across the street, it looks like a lobby on the lower floor of a multi-use building. Up close, a small sandwich board sign on the front ramp indicates the way in.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lee was juggling a tech career with a wedding and floral design business, but dreaming about opening a cafe. She then spent the past two years learning about coffee roasting, brewing and the correct way to extract espresso. During the wedding off-season, she went to South Korea for a coffee expo and met the owner of Gan Gyeul Coffee. She tasted something unique in the way his company roasts beans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found out that his roasting style is very experimental and not very easy to find in the United States,\u201d Lee said. She brought home a couple of Gan Gyeul coffee bags but couldn\u2019t find a similar style of roasting\u2014which balanced flavor and acidity\u2014here. One of her customers, a coffee connoisseur, told Lee he could taste the difference in her pour-over. He had purchased the same beans elsewhere, but they\u2019d been processed by a different roaster.<\/p>\n
Lee serves a half-dozen different kinds of pour-overs. Each one is listed on the menu with descriptions of its terroir and tasting notes. But she also makes coffee-free specialty drinks, such as matcha and hojicha lattes. I tried a high-viscosity black sesame soy milk latte ($7) and an avocado toast with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella ($10). Lee serves her beverages in clear, compostable cups. They\u2019re wider than most disposable beverage cups, and the transparency makes for trippy viewing as the ingredients swirl around and mingle. An iced banana milk latte looks glamorous both in person and online.<\/p>\n
The sheepdog on the logo is modeled after Gurumi, the cafe\u2019s mascot and Lee\u2019s canine companion. Lee also still makes flower arrangements which are currently available as pre-orders.<\/p>\n
Marin\u2019s Kitchen & Coffee, 400 21st St., Oakland. Open Mon-Fri, 7am to 3pm. IG: marinskitchenandcoffee<\/a><\/p>\n Olivia Coffee & Flower, 371 30th St., Suite C100, Oakland. Open Mon-Fri, 7:30am to 3pm. IG: olivia_coffeeflower<\/a><\/p>\n