Awaken Cafe » Blog

"Remember what diversity felt like?"

Commenting on a Starbucks advertisement that appeared in the the New York Times, the July/August 2007 issue of Adbusters Magazine asked readers to reflect:

"Imagine a city, in which there is only one kind of coffee shop. One kind of burger place. One supermarket. One pub.

Remember what diversity felt like? The fun of discovering something unexpected, in a place you hadn't been before? Variety and local flavour matter for vibrant, healthy communities. Go ahead, ditch Starbucks -- and enjoy some local culture instead."

Labels: coffee, community, media

Newest Investor/Partner

We're excited to announce the addition of our newest investor/partner Alexander Zendzian. Alexander is a professional performance artist. He brings to the Awaken Cafe passion, inspiration, and creative, outside-of-the-box thinking. We are happy to have him on the team, and believe his connection to the San Francisco Bay Area dance and performance community will be a valuable asset.

Read his bio here.

Send him an email and welcome him!

Labels: arts, parnters

The Health Department Approves!

I picked up our plans for Phase One from the health department today. They've signed off! Next stop Building Permits!

Labels: build-out, city of oakland

We Love Oakland

We've created a bumper sticker that we plan to pass out in downtown Oakland. We wanted to spread the word to our future customers, but we didn't want to hand out just another flyer. So we came up with the idea of combining an advertisement with a gift!

Here's the bumper sticker and the web page it refers people to.

Labels: city of oakland, friends of the awaken cafe, spread the word

A Cafe for All of Us, Built by All of Us

We've created a flyer to speak to the vast community of Bay Area Burners. Kari and I have both been attending Burning Man for many years and in many ways this project was inspired by the community and creative aspects of that event.

The flyer asks people to compare Center Camp at Burning Man, and what they like about it, to the Awaken Cafe. People interested in participating in building the Awaken Cafe are directed to log on to a special web page.

Check out the flyer and the web page and let us know what you think!

Labels: friends of the awaken cafe, spread the word

Review Us On Yelp

"Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great (and not so great) in your world. You already know that asking friends is the best way to find restaurants, dentists, hairstylists, and anything local. Yelp makes it fast and easy by collecting and organizing your friends' recommendations in one convenient place."

Add your review of the Awaken Cafe on YELP. Let's tell the world what that we're looking forward to the Awaken Cafe before it is even here!

Labels: spread the word, www

SF Gate Article on Coffee's Perks

"According to research, coffee might actually have some health benefits, and it's one of the few drinks available these days that doesn't come loaded with sugar and calories. It might guard against gout, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, and other health problems."

Read the entire article here.

Labels: coffee, media, perks

Blogger/Journalist Ryan Tate Weighs In

We've been following journalist Ryan Tate's excellent stories in the San Francisco Business Times on the business of restaurants and the revitalization of downtown Oakland.

I recently stumbled across a tongue-in-cheek posting he made on his blog "Covers" in response to the Tribune story about the Awaken Cafe. I wrote him a note introducing myself and telling him that I had evidence that the suspiciously named Friend of the Cafe Larry Biggie actually exists. Biggie must have noticed the link on the Awaken Cafe web site, and also wrote to him. Which prompted this posting from Tate.

We think the exchange is pretty funny and like Tate's style! Let us know what you think!

Labels: city of oakland, friends of the awaken cafe, media, www

Saturday, June 23, 2007

"Remember what diversity felt like?"

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Newest Investor/Partner

Friday, June 15, 2007

The Health Department Approves!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

We Love Oakland

A Cafe for All of Us, Built by All of Us

Review Us On Yelp

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

SF Gate Article on Coffee's Perks

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Blogger/Journalist Ryan Tate Weighs In

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