Paulina Galoostian
Contributing Writer
Let’s be honest — as students we have caffeine flowing through our veins. We also love brainstorming, instagramming, and studying at cute coffee shops that have both good flavor and character. Here’s a list of the best new and not-so-new coffee shops in San Francisco. Continue reading Cafe Au Lait By The Bay
When I moved to San Francisco as a freshman at USF, I remember constantly hearing one word to describe the USF and San Francisco community: Diversity. We, as Jesuit scholars, love our diversity. Luckily, we live in a city that loves endorsing culturally diverse neighborhood communities (emphasis on “diverse,” just to hammer this point home). Unrelated to this, I love coffee. So what better way for me to spend my time than exploring coffee shops and cafes in each of San Francisco’s unique neighborhoods? Because the Haight is the closest cultural hub to USF’s campus, I will start there.
There are at least ten different cafes in the stretch of Haight Street between Masonic and Stanyan, but this article will only cover a few of them. If your favorite coffee shop isn’t listed then, hey, maybe it’s time to explore a new one! First up, the infamous Coffee to the People. This establishment embodies all things Haight-Ashbury– its rotating gallery of abstract art work, its 1970’s-esque politically radical collages, the permanent group of street kids at its stoop, and its comfy couches. Coffee to the People is a bubble of socialist utopia. If you don’t mind the wafting scent of customers who don’t shower very often, then this cafe is a great place to settle in and read or browse the Internet. The baristas could stand to be a tad more cordial; then again, their blasé attitudes are probably just the manifestation of their hipster obscurity. When it comes to coffee quality, Coffee to the People is a winner. Their drip coffee always seems to have a bit more flavor than the competition. They also have a fantastic assortment of teas, although I stay away from the Chai- you have to be feeling really spicy to handle a chai latte here. If you’re looking to hang out, do homework, or just people watch in the Haight, Coffee to the People is my number one suggestion.
Somehow, after living a block from it for almost a year, I didn’t manage to visit the Red Vic Cafe until this semester. Luckily, I stopped in to visit a friend at work (the baristas are mostly USF students) and realized that the Red Vic is not just a bed and breakfast– It’s also a great place to study in a peaceful, quiet environment. Free wifi, exceptionally friendly baristas, and the tranquility of their meditation room keep me coming back to the Red Vic whenever I am feeling the hankering for some “me time.” Anything “latte” is good at this place, whether it be a chai latte, vanilla latte, caramel soy latte… It’s good. The drip coffee leaves something to be desired though, so if you are going to go here, go for the fancy drinks. Bring your laptop, sip on the something sugary, and let yourself enjoy the tranquility!
The last stop on this week’s coffee exploration is Cafe Cole, a small little coffee house right off of Haight Street. For me, Cafe Cole is always a hit or miss affair. They have a few strikes against them from the get go. First, they don’t provide free wifi. Second, they are cash only (as are many places in this city), but their atm tends to be persnickety and doesn’t always like to work. Third, there isn’t much seating within the cafe, so if it’s a rainy day, you probably will want to get your goods to go. With all that being said, Cafe Cole does have one unique and amazing thing to offer: wonderfully delicious smoothies. They are one of the few places in the Haight were you can get vegan (or non-vegan) smoothies of all flavors and varieties. They are my go-to for fruity drinks. Their muffins, additionally, are the best in the area (not to mention they are exceptionally large). The downside? The drip coffee is pretty bad. As is the chai. Regular lattes are acceptable, but nothing to write home about. Since this is a coffee-based review, Cafe Cole is, unfortunately, not a place I would recommend for anything espresso related.
Other coffee places to check out in the Haight: People’s Caf and the Blue Bottle coffee counter in the Haight Market. Places to stay away from: Whole Foods Coffee Bar, The Cantina, and Rockin’ Java.
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Although Outtahere, the new cafe, has only been open for two weeks, manager Steve Karuntzos said there have been “plenty of compliments” because of the all-day breakfast. He added that “feedback is amazing, and there is more to come.” Outtahere is the all organic café that occupies the space that was previously held by Jamba Juice. Holly Winslow, the director of Bon Appetit Services at USF, conceptualized the idea, and the cafe is managed by Karuntzos, the manager of Outtakes. According to Winslow, Bon Appetit did not renew Jamba Juice’s contract because they wanted to make smoothies that came from fresh fruits instead of the frozen fruit smoothies that Jamba Juice sold. Winslow said, “Nutritional content from our fresh fruit smoothies is way better than the nutritional content from Jamba Juice.”
Winslow has a two fold vision for Outtahere. It is a café that is open late and also one that serves organic food. Winslow said, “It’s convenient for students who are studying late into the night, and for students who are coming late.” The café incorporates breakfast all day seven days a week, late night dining, and a convenience store. Winslow adds that there will be a twist on breakfast, such as burger breakfast, which is an English muffin with fried egg, bacon and avocado. Winslow said she went to the student senate, conducted a survey on what students wanted from their dining experiences and received 800 responses. From these responses, she created a café that incorporated what the students wanted.
“My favorite aspect [of Outtahere], is the whole thing,” said Winslow. She said, “The products are 100% natural and our items you won’t get at Market, Outtakes, the law school and Club Ed.” She also added that she felt she listened to her customers, the student body, and responded accordingly.
Sophomore Kaity Hayashi said, “I really like how things are so much healthier and organic, and there is so much variety. So it’s really cool to come here and always have something to eat.” When asked if she misses Jamba Juice, she said “Not really. I worked at Jamba Juice for a long time. A lot of us never came in here anyways-now that this happens, a lot of my friends come here all the time.”
Kirsten Irvin, a graduate student in the MBA program, said that she finds Outtahere different from the other cafes on campus because it is “unique and trendy. I’m glad that it’s here.”
Outtahere is operating under a soft opening while they make minor adjustments to best suit students. Karuntzos worked until 2:00 in the morning and received a lot of feedback on what the students like and what they don’t like. He said “Even our shelves are natural products, they are made from bamboo.”
The grand opening for Outtahere will be in two weeks, and Winslow plans on serving free breakfast all day in the hallway of UC 100.
Bon Appétit has already begun the initial stages of developing a 24/7 café on the first floor of the University Center to replace Jamba Juice, whose contract ends next semester. “Our main goal is to have a 24/7 business up and running by spring of next year,” said Holly Winslow, general manager for Bon Appétit at USF. But don’t worry, Razzmatazz-fans, there will still be a full juice bar.
The theoretical café boasts a take-out style with retail goods, a juice bar, all-day breakfast with assorted oatmeal and burritos, a variety of high-end frozen foods, and pizza. Students will be able to lie out on big, comfortable couches and keep up with current events by watching one of the large flat-screen televisions. “Think of a cross between Crossroads and the caf,” said Winslow.
Across the country from UW to UPenn, major universities are beginning to offer some type of 24/7 café to their student populations. “I do a lot of research at several of the big schools, and they are all moving towards these cozy, comfortable settings for groups of students to meet whenever. We need to supply students with other things to do on campus after 9 p.m. That’s where we need to be,” said Winslow.
Alex Platt, student body president, whose office is right across from Jamba Juice, thinks the 24 -hour idea would be much more successful than Jamba Juice, whose hours are limited to 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
“People often come into the office here for their Muni passes and then just go off about how Jamba Juice is closed. I think students really want something that’s open around their schedule,” said Platt.
The biggest challenge facing the Bon Appétit planners will be creating a location that allows for 24/7 access yet is still exclusive to USF students. “Our top priority at Bon Appétit is to offer a healthy, safe environment for the students and the workers while still providing a quality product,” said Winslow. “The number of entrances currently throughout the University Center would make some people hesitant to allow students onto the premises at all hours of the day.” However, due to Jamba Juice’s size and position already on an outside corner of the building, renovating the location would actually be fairly inexpensive and speedy, according to Winslow.
Another issue involved with the planning will be staffing the café. Due to the massive increase in hours needed per week to run the facility, some of the positions will have to be filled by non-students. “Having non-student, full-time workers will definitely add to the café’s accessibility and success,” said Winslow.
Jamba Juice, whose presence on campus began in 2002 when it replaced Taco Bell, will be ending a seven-year contract with the school. When Bon Appétit came on in the fall of 2003 though, Jamba’s agreement was originally set for 10 years but was shortened to seven. “Most companies don’t even have 10 -year contracts anymore as it binds the business in for so long that it becomes susceptible to overpricing and inflation,” said Winslow.
Many students hold some sort of nostalgia toward the last franchise business on the USF campus.
“There are still days when the lines are just out the door,” said Willie Couther, head manager for Jamba Juice for the last two years. “I know all the prospective student tours go by here, too. So I’d like to think this is one of the first things a lot of students even see when they come here for the first time.”
“Based on my experience at Crossroads, I am naturally skeptical of any student-run or Bon Appetit-managed café taking over Jamba Juice,” said freshman Daniela Ricci-Tam. “At least Jamba has consistent products, even if the hours change daily.”
Alia Al-Sharif, vice president of Social Justice for ASUSF, has mixed feelings about the juice joint departing. “I’m a vegan, so I always enjoyed their soy smoothies, but I feel like it was just too small of a location because they would always run out of soy, which I would have to buy from Crossroads and add myself.”
No matter what happens in the future, though, Bon Appétit will still be serving Jamba Juice until all the arrangements are finalized. “We are still only in the research phase, after all,” said Winslow.
