Café Society
My Favorite Local Cafés & Why They Inspire Me
I write a lot here about my creative projects. But another focus of this space is to consider what sparks that creativity in the first place. What do we surround ourselves with that can contribute, uplift and cause us to not only have that overwhelming desire but also the drive to actually make something.
Because, while of course we need some downtime to binge-watch the latest show, we also need our creative time, and without that spark, our creative time will be consumed instead by housework, yardwork, those downtime shows, or something else.
So what does it for you?
For me, one of those things is cafés.
The Third Space
A place that I need consistently for an ongoing energy infusion is the café, and I’m not just talking about needing coffee. Cafés are that third space, neither home nor work, where you can hang out with other people—even if you’re alone—for no reason, or any reason.
I often have the opportunity as the editor of Made Local Magazine and as a writer for the Bohemian and Marin Pacific Sun to discover and delve deeper into how some systems and spaces in our regional landscape have that ability to “third space”—to gather creative energy and distribute it back to others. Many points of the food system seem to naturally do this, especially in Sonoma County, from the farm to the restaurant.
Case in point, in the July/August 2024 issue of Made Local Magazine I had the pleasure of interviewing the owners of Stellina Pronto!—one of my favorite cafés. And yes, that exclamation point is part of their name—they are that enthusiastic!
Following are a few of my current favorite café spaces and the reasons why.
Stellina Pronto!
It’s one of those places that just feels good, like you are in the right place at the right time, with the right people. And what better definition of good life can there be? It’s a place where I go by myself, with kids, with my creative partner (husband Daedalus Howell) to discuss our ideas, and also where I meet friends or interview subjects for articles I’m writing.
Co-owner Christian Caiazzo always knows I want a cappuccino and dammit that’s all I really want—a café that knows my order before I order it! Plus they serve Potrero Hill roasted Linea coffee.
If you eat sugar and/or gluten, you could order anything from the case and it would be delicious. And just read my upcoming article in the magazine to find out about the amazing new woodfired pizzas. (Just today someone from New Haven stopped me outside the café and said, “Have you had their pizza? I mean, I’m from New Haven and the New Haven pizza is right on.”)
The owners’ succinct understanding of the café’s place is key. Co-owner Katrina Fried says, “What is special to me about all our restaurants is how connected they are to their community and their moment; the relationship between the producers, the customers, and the place is so intimate and part of our identity.”
So old school! And yet, they manage to be very current with their offerings and their vibe. Simplicity, but with details.
Bagel Mill
Petaluma has always had multiple cafés and now is no exception. Case in point is another old school café—at least until they run out of bagels around 2pm or sometimes earlier—the Bagel Mill. Great coffee, great bagels if you’re inclined, and you can bring kids or meet friends or do work at a table.
I order a cappuccino made with Ritual Coffee, and sometimes I ask for what I call the high-maintenance bagel: open-face sesame, double-toasted, light cream cheese, with slices of tomato. They accommodate me. And patrons can drink the cappuccinos from handmade, pink ceramic cups created by one of the baristas who is also a ceramicist, Lil Clay Girl. That’s local.
La Dolce Vita
I’ll actually add Sahar Gharai’s wine bar, La Dolce Vita, to this list. While it’s not a café, it’s open reasonably late, is more appropriate for the evening anyway, and is a very community-minded place. Plus, the wine.
And a well-kept secret about this place is the fabulous food. Gharai’s mother makes three kinds of hummus and they are all incredible. So is the chicken sandwich, the avocado toast, and any soup you might order. Don’t get me started on their pizza. You might think at this point that I’m into pizza. I’m actually not, but these places all have such great pizza!
LDV is where so many of our friends’ birthdays and other milestone moments have been celebrated, and it’s where my husband and I have dreamed up many of the creative ideas we have ended up working on and even realizing (like our participatory conceptual art experience, Airport Bar, that was literally hosted in the establishment.)
Way Back Machine
While there are always a particular few cafés at a time that just work for me, of course there are others too, like Stellina’s sandwich and bottle shop cousin, Alimentari, or Grand Central Café, Divine Mother, Avid, Aqus, and more. I have loved them all, and all have their merits and are part of the lineage.
I know I’m not the only one in town who has been enjoying cafés in Petaluma since my teen years in the eighties. We have been lucky to have had a lot of them over the years. The 80s in particular felt like a heyday for cafés, including Christine’s Café—which stayed open until midnight—located between the repertory movie theater and the record store, and Markey’s (where the Tea Room Café is now) which stayed open until at least 9 or 10 o'clock at night.
Later came Aram’s Café and the Apple Box Café, and others, all open late for our plan-hatching pleasures. There are many drawings in my poetry book, 1912 that come from journals of the 90s in those cafés.
Now, some cafés seem to be more about getting one’s coffee (what?) than community or ideas and most are closed by 2pm when people aren’t supposed to be drinking caffeine, in order to get a good night’s sleep.
While I’d kill for a good night’s sleep, I also want a coffee at 3pm (you have heard of decaf? Or the sometimes popular “half-caf”?) And of course I’m now coffee-spoiled too so don’t think good coffee itself isn’t a thing, it absolutely is.
Maybe that’s part of why a café works for me. Because it’s just life. It’s a cup of coffee. It’s friends. It’s where we live. And to me, that is inspiring.
