Sunday, January 25, 2009

Just Chatting

Hello Berkeley,

How is everyone? We just wanted to drop in and say hi. I'm not too sure how many people read our blogs, but I just wanted to say hi to new and old readers. It's been a roller coaster ride for us. It's not easy being a business owner trying to compete with the other big coffee shops, but with the support of local neighborhoods and students, it's been getting better. We always wonder how we can reach out to everyone and make improvements. We would like to thank everyone's suggestions and we continue to try and make Sonoma Coffee Cafe a better place. I wish we had a bigger store, but hopefully we can expand as we get more customers in. The spaces next to us is empty and we would love to occupy that space and have longer hours in the future. Everyone that has been posting on Yelp has helped a lot and thank you for the word of mouth. It does help with the community spreading the word. We hope to do more things as the months go by. We are going to do some samples soon so everyone can try the different selections we have to offer. It can be overwhleming when you look at our menu, but we are more than happy yo explain it. I can understand that it's not your normal ordering menu than the rest of the coffee shops. We are offering something different and so far the response has been great. Well, I just wanted to say hi and hope to see you here. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Human Being

Hello Berkeley,

This isn't my usual kind of posting, but I felt I needed to write this. Last night a "homeless" man came into the store and asked to change two dimes and five pennies for a quarter. Now, couple of weeks earlier another "homeless" man came in and wanted two dimes and three pennies for a quarter. I was not falling for it and said no. He then turned away and went across the street to another business. So, last night the gentleman simply asked for the exact change and the last experience I had my initial response was no. I wasn't even thinking and judged him. All he wanted was change to make a phone call. I felt like a jerk. He said to me he can't believe what people were saying to him that day and was having a bad day. I apologized and I told him I hope he has a better day and he left. He came in tonight and I greeted him and asked if his day was better. He was shocked that I remembered him and said, "Today is another day and it's never the same day." He bought a cup of coffee and sat down at our bar stool near our pastries. I decided to talk to him and have a chat. He was telling me how he was having a tough time and trying to get back on his feet. Now, some of you may be thinking he is trying to ask for something or trying to scam. No, he just wanted someone to talk to and needed to take a break. I got to know this gentleman a little bit more and he was an educated man with a lot of life experience. I had to close and he was off to find shelter for the night. I'm guilty of judging someone and I have no right to judge someone or anyone. I'm not saying every "homeless" person is like this person I met, but everyone is a human being. Sure, we walk down the street and get asked for money, but maybe some of them say hi just to be acknowledged and feel human. Maybe this is what Obama means by "change". We need to treat each other like human beings. We need to look at the person next to us and listen, understand, and somehow help each other. I hope that gentleman gets back on his feet. Hey, I hope he has the success story like the guy from Pursuit of Happyness. I would like to believe that is the direction he will take, but either way... he is a human being. 

Good night Berkeley

Monday, January 12, 2009

Happy New Year

Hello Berkeley,

Happy New Year! It's been awhile since we posted. Did everyone have a nice holiday? We all did here at Sonoma. One of our employees fell asleep before midnight..., but had fun so that's all that mattered. We can't wait for everyone to come check us out. One of our customer said they had an experience here and that's what we're trying to do. She liked the fact that we joke with them and they don't feel like they are just buying coffee. That was really nice of her to say that. We do offer fee Wi-Fi for customers, comfy chairs, and personality. Another guy came in a few weeks ago wanting to buy personality. LOL. He said we need to market that more. Hey, we do give free shots of personality with every drink. Just ask for it and we'll give you more shots of personality. I'm hoping the community and the City of Berkeley do love us. We hope to stay in this neighborhood as long as we can. I know it's not easy with this economy we are all in, but we hope that we can bring a smile and contribute something in this "change". Check out our photobucket page. We have customer pictures as well as customer art near the bathroom on the chalkboard wall.
http://photobucket.com/durantscc

Well, I'm out of here Berkeley. I hope you enjoyed my blog for the day. Please leave comments. See you around.