Coming soon: a survey on what people would like to see/would support in hang-out joints in 78723.
Watch and learn, Catellus survey designers! This is how we do it in Austin, ya knuckleheads!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Details on The Nomad
I asked Miguel for a full description of what he's got planned for the corner of Corona & Cameron. He described it "a sort of Gingerman meets Club DeVille," with cheese, fruit, bread, coffee, Italian sodas, hot chocolate, aperitifs, and coffee, coffee, coffee. Furniture: "loungy couches, comfortable barstools, eclectic worldly decor and jukebox." Setting: patio and eventually a fireplace outside. Entertainment: monthly foreign movies, with foreign and beer/wine to fit the regions. (I can't wait to see what he serves when he shows "The Fast Runner.") Companions: dogs, kids, friends, partners, family.
"Think home away from home type feel, even more comfortable than a coffee shop in many ways I hope," Miguel wrote. "Let me know what you think."
At the neighborhood planning meeting last week, lots of people knew about Miguel's place already, mainly from the Planning Commission. Yet I also sensed a lot of what I'll call Muellerism: that it doesn't matter what we get north of 51st, because what's going to happen south is going to rock. Well, I don't necessarily believe that's true, which is why I can get behind both Miguel and Jose's projects. Both are ambitious, but if we end up with 50% of what they envision in the next year, that's 100% more than what we'll have at Mueller.
"Think home away from home type feel, even more comfortable than a coffee shop in many ways I hope," Miguel wrote. "Let me know what you think."
At the neighborhood planning meeting last week, lots of people knew about Miguel's place already, mainly from the Planning Commission. Yet I also sensed a lot of what I'll call Muellerism: that it doesn't matter what we get north of 51st, because what's going to happen south is going to rock. Well, I don't necessarily believe that's true, which is why I can get behind both Miguel and Jose's projects. Both are ambitious, but if we end up with 50% of what they envision in the next year, that's 100% more than what we'll have at Mueller.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Another Coffee Shop
Jose del Valle and I met at Epoch (where I'd never been before; cool place) the other day to talk about his coffee shop idea. He owns 1/2 acre on the west side of Cameron Road, just north of Clayton Lane, sandwiched between a day care center and the Church of Christ. He's looking to revamp the house on the property and turn the first floor into some coffee shop/restaurant arrangement, perhaps building some hangout space on the back that wouldn't change the overall nature of the space. (There are trees, for instance.)
This property is up for rezoning to general retail in the new neighborhood plan, which is the best zoning category for such a coffee shop. From where I live, this is a bit of a hike, and I don't relish the idea of crossing Cameron, but then that all depends on the destination, doesn't it? And it remains to be seen whether a place between a day care and a church could ever sell beer, but maybe he could sell Christian beer in sippy cups, I don't know.
Next steps? Either getting a co-op together or finding someone with capital to lease and remodel. If you want to get involved, contact Jose at delvalle dot jose at sign gmail dot com.
UPDATE: I altered Jose's email address.
This property is up for rezoning to general retail in the new neighborhood plan, which is the best zoning category for such a coffee shop. From where I live, this is a bit of a hike, and I don't relish the idea of crossing Cameron, but then that all depends on the destination, doesn't it? And it remains to be seen whether a place between a day care and a church could ever sell beer, but maybe he could sell Christian beer in sippy cups, I don't know.
Next steps? Either getting a co-op together or finding someone with capital to lease and remodel. If you want to get involved, contact Jose at delvalle dot jose at sign gmail dot com.
UPDATE: I altered Jose's email address.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
In depth news
A closer look at Jose Del Valle's place later in the week. All you Epoch fans, he and I are meeting for coffee there....maybe you'll get your Windsor Park Epoch offshoot, after all.
New Mueller Survey
So we should be grateful to Catellus for letting us give input into the retail landscape at Mueller? Well, how about this: you can start by collecting my input accurately.
The survey that was announced the other day will not reflect people's actual preferences, and it forces them to rank items for which no ranking may be necessary. That's a problem.
If you haven't taken the survey yet, let me explain. On one page, you're given a list of types of businesses that you'd like to see at Mueller. A coffeehouse? A drafthouse? An ethnic eatery? A family-style restaurant? Now, I care more about a coffeehouse first (check the name of this blog), and ethnic eateries ranks second, but I care about drafthouses and family-style places just about equally. (All of this critique extends to the rest of the survey; I'm just illustrating with these items.) However, the survey won't let me indicate this preference, which is my actual preference. Instead, I can only indicate one level of preference for each type of business. So I'm forced to create a ranking where I don't hold one. Why should I rank drafthouse over family-style place? That hierarchy doesn't exist in my mind.
Eventually, I just stopped answering questions. How can I know whether I want a yoga club over a sporting goods store? Ahh, maybe it's a thinking exercise. But give me a thinking exercise that's labeled as such; don't call it participatory neighborhood planning. Item over item, survey-taker over survey-taker, what will be generated is an inaccurate picture of the retail that people are interested in.
You may say, it's easy to criticize. What alternative would you propose? Well, a better mechanism would have been to put each item on a Likert scale (e.g., 0=not interested, 5=very interested). I'd bet money that Survey Monkey has this functionality. You say, what if everyone says they're very interested in all of the options? I guess that means you better get cracking providing people the options they want, instead of creating an environment where you can doctor the results with your methodology.
Look, I operate from the perspective that if people's input is actually important, then survey design and other data collection methodologies matter, too. I'm new to the Mueller Redevelopment listserv, and new to getting involved in planning. So can anyone tell me, is there any way to influence the survey methodology? Or is this the way it's always been done?
I sent a note to "Lkunz," who sent the note about the Survey Monkey survey, with this same critique. I'll post here when I hear from him or her about why a Likert scale (or some other design) wasn't chosen.
The survey that was announced the other day will not reflect people's actual preferences, and it forces them to rank items for which no ranking may be necessary. That's a problem.
If you haven't taken the survey yet, let me explain. On one page, you're given a list of types of businesses that you'd like to see at Mueller. A coffeehouse? A drafthouse? An ethnic eatery? A family-style restaurant? Now, I care more about a coffeehouse first (check the name of this blog), and ethnic eateries ranks second, but I care about drafthouses and family-style places just about equally. (All of this critique extends to the rest of the survey; I'm just illustrating with these items.) However, the survey won't let me indicate this preference, which is my actual preference. Instead, I can only indicate one level of preference for each type of business. So I'm forced to create a ranking where I don't hold one. Why should I rank drafthouse over family-style place? That hierarchy doesn't exist in my mind.
Eventually, I just stopped answering questions. How can I know whether I want a yoga club over a sporting goods store? Ahh, maybe it's a thinking exercise. But give me a thinking exercise that's labeled as such; don't call it participatory neighborhood planning. Item over item, survey-taker over survey-taker, what will be generated is an inaccurate picture of the retail that people are interested in.
You may say, it's easy to criticize. What alternative would you propose? Well, a better mechanism would have been to put each item on a Likert scale (e.g., 0=not interested, 5=very interested). I'd bet money that Survey Monkey has this functionality. You say, what if everyone says they're very interested in all of the options? I guess that means you better get cracking providing people the options they want, instead of creating an environment where you can doctor the results with your methodology.
Look, I operate from the perspective that if people's input is actually important, then survey design and other data collection methodologies matter, too. I'm new to the Mueller Redevelopment listserv, and new to getting involved in planning. So can anyone tell me, is there any way to influence the survey methodology? Or is this the way it's always been done?
I sent a note to "Lkunz," who sent the note about the Survey Monkey survey, with this same critique. I'll post here when I hear from him or her about why a Likert scale (or some other design) wasn't chosen.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Owner Interested in Starting Coffee Shop
Jose Del Valle wrote to the Windsor Park listserv about his house at 6008 Cameron, on the west side of the street just north of Clayton. He wrote:
I'm in the process of reconfiguring my house at 6008 Cameron Road -- I'm exploring the idea of a coffee house or something that the neigborhood would really would like to see there. It's on the west side of Cameron (just north of Clayton Lane) it's the two story house with red brick in front. The property sits on 1/2 acre with lots of trees, so there is plenty of potential for a nice neighborhood hangout. I would be open to potential partnerships --- I'm much more interested in renting the structure then actually running /operating it myself.I've invited Jose to give me a fuller account of what he's planning. Maybe we can arrange a full meeting or something, so that he knows what people in the neighborhood want/need and how they're willing to help. Last week a commenter suggested a cooperative model, which is interesting. A sort of Wheatsville of coffee. Anyone out there have any coop organizing experience?
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Why not to rely on Mueller
Thanks to Kate from the Windsor Park listserv, who send this article from San Fran about a New Urbanist community where the much-touted services never arrived:
At first glance, a trip to the New Urbanist community taking shape on Hercules' bayfront is reminiscent of the neighborhood depicted in the Jim Carrey movie "The Truman Show." Each Craftsman, Victorian and Italianate home couldn't be more perfect, glistening in an array of tasteful pastels.But at least Carrey's character, trapped in a seemingly idyllic seaside community, could walk to the local cafe for a cup of coffee. Three years after moving into the Promenade section of Hercules' New Urbanist Waterfront Redevelopment District west of Interstate 80, residents still have to drive or take a long walk for items as mundane as a cup of coffee. The bustling just-walk-to-it village, touted as a model of the New Urbanist movement, has yet to materialize.
Read the whole thing here.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Rumors of Nomads
I had heard of Miguel's plan as a rumor first, and I need to credit my friend Jill for passing it along. And though I had threatened to start this blog a year ago, it was Jill's comment on Saturday night that sprung a leak in my procrastination. Thanks, Jill!
If you read the comment thread, it sounds like The Nomad is full steam ahead, with coffee, pastries, and breakfast tacos sooner rather than later. A big ol' Valentine for Windsor Park.
If anyone has other rumors of coffee shops, feel free to post them or pass them along.
If you read the comment thread, it sounds like The Nomad is full steam ahead, with coffee, pastries, and breakfast tacos sooner rather than later. A big ol' Valentine for Windsor Park.
If anyone has other rumors of coffee shops, feel free to post them or pass them along.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Windsor Park Gets...A Bar
Well, I'm glad that people are making major announcements on Rumors of Grounds. From the comments, "miguel" writes this:
That's very exciting! We wish Miguel lots of luck, and we'll definitely check out The Nomad. But does it mean this blog should now shut down? That coffee shop activism is irrelevant out of the gate? Not at all! This is a coffee shop rumor blog, and Miguel brings true rumors of...a bar.
OK, heres a "rumor" that happens to be true. I am opening a bar in WP and it will be at the location of the day labor place on Corona. We will serve Coffee and some food but we will only open at five-at first. We plan to expand as time goes on to be able to cater to our AM neighbors in a few months after we open, which hopefully if all goes well should be in July. We will have wifi, foreign movies scheduled and an eclectic choice of beer wine and liquors from around the world. Please visit The Nomad when it arrives.
That's very exciting! We wish Miguel lots of luck, and we'll definitely check out The Nomad. But does it mean this blog should now shut down? That coffee shop activism is irrelevant out of the gate? Not at all! This is a coffee shop rumor blog, and Miguel brings true rumors of...a bar.
Better Now Than Never
"Windsor Park is a great neighborhood," people told us when my wife and I were considering buying a house here 2.5 years ago, "but there's just one problem with it."
"What's that?" we asked.
"There's no coffee shop," they said.
There wasn't a coffee shop then, and now, 2.5 years later, there still isn't one. What there have been are rumors. Rumors of coffee. And since we live in WP now, we hear rumors all the time.
"Oh, didn't you hear? Somebody's going to turn the Jack Brown cleaners into a coffee shop."
"I heard that somebody's mother-in-law, who lives out of the country, is going to come and open a coffee shop somewhere."
"I heard that two lesbians are going to open a coffee shop where Centennial Liquors used to be...oh, it's already a plumbing supply place?"
Oddly enough, one of the rumors turned out to be true. Well, sort of true. But things didn't work out. And since that fell through, the rumors have picked up again.
I'm going to use this blog to relate all the coffee shop rumors and rants that I hear. I may even include reviews on places I visit in Austin. Flightpath. Quack's. Pacha (where there's a $5 minimum on credit cards, which sucks). Cafe Mundi. Azul. Clementine. El Chilito. Thunderbird. Jo's. In other words, little independently owned businesses that some forward-thinking person carved out of the urban sludge, who saw value in the valueless. I may even post here on conversations with owners & entrepreneurs about what's stopping them from moving into Windsor Park.
One more thing: I don't particularly care what's going to open over at Mueller someday, and I don't care that we'll eventually get a coffee shop.
1) We all know that it's going to be Starbucks at Mueller, and that's fine. But I want something else, a place that sells coffee and paletas, or coffee and tacos, or coffee and panini, and Starbucks doesn't do any of those. Yes, "Austin as weird" has become a bit of a brand name itself, but I like the brand, and I'm loyal to it.
2) We all know that's years away. So come on. Put a coffee shop where the people already live.
"What's that?" we asked.
"There's no coffee shop," they said.
There wasn't a coffee shop then, and now, 2.5 years later, there still isn't one. What there have been are rumors. Rumors of coffee. And since we live in WP now, we hear rumors all the time.
"Oh, didn't you hear? Somebody's going to turn the Jack Brown cleaners into a coffee shop."
"I heard that somebody's mother-in-law, who lives out of the country, is going to come and open a coffee shop somewhere."
"I heard that two lesbians are going to open a coffee shop where Centennial Liquors used to be...oh, it's already a plumbing supply place?"
Oddly enough, one of the rumors turned out to be true. Well, sort of true. But things didn't work out. And since that fell through, the rumors have picked up again.
I'm going to use this blog to relate all the coffee shop rumors and rants that I hear. I may even include reviews on places I visit in Austin. Flightpath. Quack's. Pacha (where there's a $5 minimum on credit cards, which sucks). Cafe Mundi. Azul. Clementine. El Chilito. Thunderbird. Jo's. In other words, little independently owned businesses that some forward-thinking person carved out of the urban sludge, who saw value in the valueless. I may even post here on conversations with owners & entrepreneurs about what's stopping them from moving into Windsor Park.
One more thing: I don't particularly care what's going to open over at Mueller someday, and I don't care that we'll eventually get a coffee shop.
1) We all know that it's going to be Starbucks at Mueller, and that's fine. But I want something else, a place that sells coffee and paletas, or coffee and tacos, or coffee and panini, and Starbucks doesn't do any of those. Yes, "Austin as weird" has become a bit of a brand name itself, but I like the brand, and I'm loyal to it.
2) We all know that's years away. So come on. Put a coffee shop where the people already live.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Launch
Welcome to the Windsor Park Coffee Shop Rumor blog, where I'll post on each new version of each new rumor I hear about efforts to build a coffee shop to serve the Windsor Park neighborhood. (Yes, it's that frequent that I need a blog.) This is also ground zero for the coffee activist movement that is going to convince an Austin entrepreneur to open a coffee shop around here, independent of the Mueller development. Barring that, it will be the gathering place for the people who will decide to take matters into their own hands. I'll open a coffee shop in my own damn living room if I have to...but we're not at that point yet, folks.
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