A friend mentioned that a coffee shop opened in the old Grease Rags clothing store on Monroe called the Coniferous Cafe that actually stays open in the evening and holds numerous events. Has anyone been there or would like to check it out or have any additional insight on this place?
If this is really a thing then I'm puzzled why I haven't heard a peep about this in this forum. We all know an important key to the success of the core is having services and events happening after traditional business hours and if there is any way we can encourage these entrepreneurs then we should.
It is a neat place. I will suggest to either Siddie or Avi that they post some info on MJ. Yes ... they seem opened on most nights, and do have various evening events ... music, discussions etc.
They just rented the adjacent space and will expand to it. One of their objectives is to encourage and develop co-ops .. offering assistance in doing so. They promote for the most part progressive thinking, and I believe they supported Sanders, as did I.
At the cafe / bookstore around the corner on Laura, we stay open only on Wednesday night .. till nine, and do only a very little business. This allows some customers to pick up books, as their work schedules do not allow pick ups before we close at five. Early next year, we plan to open the newly renovated place next to the bookstore ... and will experiment with late nights every night. Perhaps with this, and Siddie's and Avi's place opening every night, we can gather a little momentum on night activity in the afea.
The people there are pleasant and on top of things. I visit when I can, and we discuss this and that concerning the issues of the average worker. Unions. Co-ops. Eugene Debs. Small business dynamics. The coffee is good too.
Interesting timing, I just heard about Coniferous Cafe for the first time this morning on WJCT while driving in to work. Looking forward to checking it out!
I tried to try it this morning before work, but apparently they don't open till 10AM (walked around the corner and went to Chamblin's instead). Surely opening at 7:30 would pay for itself? I'll try it sometime during their operating hours.
I've been meaning to stop by but they open a few hours later than my morning coffee run. So I'll have to catch them one day after work.
Tried it tonight. The coffee is good. It is Martin Coffee so it's both local and predictable. The place looks nice inside; it reminds me of a lot of the more progressive places I saw when I was in Tallahassee. They appeared to be preparing for an event tonight, chairs were setup and ten or so people were standing around talking.
I'll definitely go back, especially since they seem to be the only late-night downtown coffee shop.
Just found out tonight that they plan on opening at 7AM starting next week! I've been several times and the service and coffee have been wonderful. I don't think they'll supplant Social Grounds as my morning coffee, but I'll definitely be going back on the days I work late.
Hey everyone! My name is Siddie, I work at the Cafe and handle most of our social media and web stuff.
Thanks so much for starting a thread for us! We are excited to be part of the downtown community and neighbors to Ron and the gang.
We have adjusted our hours a bit since this thread; the Cafe is now open Monday-Friday from 7a - 6p (we stay open until 10p when there are events programmed) and then Saturday and Sunday from 12p - 6p (again, we stay open late if there is programming happening in our new venue space)
You can check out an up to date calendar of events or shop our infoshop wares via our website https://coniferous.cafe
We love to host our community for special events, if you have a trade or a book or something you want to share we would love to have you. You can submit pitches for events via our website on the Events page.
We have a crowdfunder running to help us root in with our new venue and there is a short and sweet video that should give you a feel for the space. -> https://www.gofundme.com/coniferous-cafe-expansion <-
Thanks again for mentioning us and please let us know how we can improve.
All the best,
Siddie
Quote from: Siddie on October 16, 2017, 02:22:35 PM
Hey everyone! My name is Siddie, I work at the Cafe and handle most of our social media and web stuff.
Thanks so much for starting a thread for us! We are excited to be part of the downtown community and neighbors to Ron and the gang.
We have adjusted our hours a bit since this thread; the Cafe is now open Monday-Friday from 7a - 6p (we stay open until 10p when there are events programmed) and then Saturday and Sunday from 12p - 6p (again, we stay open late if there is programming happening in our new venue space)
You can check out an up to date calendar of events or shop our infoshop wares via our website https://coniferous.cafe
We love to host our community for special events, if you have a trade or a book or something you want to share we would love to have you. You can submit pitches for events via our website on the Events page.
We have a crowdfunder running to help us root in with our new venue and there is a short and sweet video that should give you a feel for the space. -> https://www.gofundme.com/coniferous-cafe-expansion <-
Thanks again for mentioning us and please let us know how we can improve.
All the best,
Siddie
Given any thought to alcohol sales? It might be a helpful stream of revenue for you.
Hey Tacachale,
Yes absolutely! We aim to obtain a beer and wine license as soon as possible :)
Quote from: Siddie on October 17, 2017, 09:34:39 AM
Hey Tacachale,
Yes absolutely! We aim to obtain a beer and wine license as soon as possible :)
Best of luck! Will have to stop by at some point soon.
Quote from: FlaBoy on October 17, 2017, 10:48:36 AM
Quote from: Siddie on October 17, 2017, 09:34:39 AM
Hey Tacachale,
Yes absolutely! We aim to obtain a beer and wine license as soon as possible :)
Best of luck! Will have to stop by at some point soon.
Please do! Have a great day, hope everyone is enjoying this fantastic weather
I saw a for-lease sign outside so I looked up their facebook page to see what happened.
They were shutdown by the firemarshall and neither they nor the landlord were willing to pay to fix the issue.
Really disapointing that this stuff happens. Why doesn't the DIA have money set aside for this sort of stuff? This was the only place to get a coffee downtown when I work late. I guess I have to hope Vagabond has late night hours when they open.
Quote from: remc86007 on May 10, 2018, 04:46:37 PM
I saw a for-lease sign outside so I looked up their facebook page to see what happened.
They were shutdown by the firemarshall and neither they nor the landlord were willing to pay to fix the issue.
Really disapointing that this stuff happens. Why doesn't the DIA have money set aside for this sort of stuff? This was the only place to get a coffee downtown when I work late. I guess I have to hope Vagabond has late night hours when they open.
DIA shouldn't be in the business of paying to fix fire code issues for property owners. Perhaps DVI could set up a fund, as it's set up for that and funded by the downtown businesses, rather than the tax payers. I don't know why the property owner would rather have a closed storefront than fix the problem, I wonder what it was.
Whatever the problem was probably cost a lot more than the rent being charged to the tenant. With that said, I think the DIA does have a program that helps businesses with situations like this. I'm pretty sure the coffeehouse at Bay and Laura tapped in to this.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 10, 2018, 04:56:37 PM
DIA shouldn't be in the business of paying to fix fire code issues for property owners. Perhaps DVI could set up a fund, as it's set up for that and funded by the downtown businesses, rather than the tax payers.
I theoretically agree with you that in the long run DIA shouldn't be helping with this sort of thing, but practically we are dealing with a downtown that has been struggling to get off the ground for decades. I don't care if some property owner gets a windfall so long as organic growth like Coniferous is protected.
The issue likely cost under $25k to fix. Coniferous was doing a surprisingly good business before they were shutdown. They activated a street that was otherwise desolate after 5PM. They were THE ONLY coffee shop downtown open after 5PM. They were self-funded. This is precisely the kind of business that this city needs to fight hard to keep. Instead, they were shutdown. I think this is emblematic of Downtown Jacksonville as a whole.
Sincerely,
Person working late downtown drinking crappy Keurig brewed coffee rather than a Cappuccino from Coniferous.
Quote from: remc86007 on May 10, 2018, 08:27:25 PM
Sincerely,
Person working late downtown drinking crappy Keurig brewed coffee rather than a Cappuccino from Coniferous.
ProTip: Bellwether has a mini-Bold Bean inside of it.
They serve coffee and espresso drinks all day/evening, and you can sit at the bar/lounge area and drink it.
Candy Apple has a pretty good coffee bar too.
INSANE to me that there's not a good old fashioned Starbucks somewhere on or off Laura Street with the amount of foot traffic it gets during the day.
^Thanks for the tips!