Coffee Garden not good enough for 222

Reporters live on coffee so the thought that the Coffee Garden below our offices in Sam Wellers' book store will one day disappear is disturbing. The alternative is a walk across Gallivan Plaza to Starbucks. For my money, Coffee Garden's product is superior.

That Starbucks alternative may be moving closer, however. A press release today from Mayor Becker's office announcing that Goldman Sachs is taking seven floors in the 222 building a few strides from City Weekly's offices may well help confirm one Coffee Garden server's suspicions that the glass and steel monolith next to us is holding out for a corporate-style client like Starbucks to take over some of its retail space.

Coffee Garden apparently put in a bid for the space but was rejected. Perhaps it was the lack of Starbucks' uniforms and happy-chirpy greeting patter that 222 found not to its taste. The folk in Coffee Garden come in all stripes and sizes, moods and hues, and it's all the more fun for that. Starbucks' bubbly style is always a little strained for my taste. 

While Sam Wellers continues to pare down its stock and bidders for the property struggle to find a bank that will loan them money, I'm just grateful that I have the Coffee Garden to visit for my daily cafeine jag.