Willow Coffee in Cleveland,Oh

To be honest, I had never heard of Willow Coffee until about a week ago. I was stuck at a stop light at Madison and West 117th, and looking to the right the word "coffee" immediately caught my eye (of course). The first thing I did after getting home was google this place. Was I the only one in Cleveland that was in the dark about Willow Coffee? Apparently I am not alone in my ignorance. I found only a few websites that had Willow Coffee mentioned. But the places I DID find some reviews were on Fox 8's Hot List and CityVoter.com and I read nothing but good things. They made the top 5 in Fox8's Hot List in 2009. That being said, I read nothing but good things about Koffie Cafe too so good reviews aren't always a guarantee that something is going to be worthwhile.


Well, you know the first thing I talk about is parking. They have some street parking in front of the shop, or you can do what we did and park across the street at the RTA parking lot. There were tons of spots and it's a lot easier.


I was a bit skeptical walking in there, a window had been broken in and a board was being used to patch it up temporarily. I saw a lit up 'open' sign and a few men hanging around outside so I figured at least there were other customers around. Turns out one of the "customers" was the owner, as he followed us inside.



The place was decorated amazingly. I can honestly say that in the hundreds of coffee shops I have been in (yes, hundreds..I love my coffee) this was by FAR the most impressive. One of the owners, Richard, is an artist and he did all of the decorating. He painted the walls and put in a little babbling brook water fountain in the corner . I thought the running water was very calming. Usually a coffee shop is filled with the sounds of laptop keyboards and cell phone conversations, so having an oasis like this in the middle of Cleveland was a great find. Coffee pictures and signs were up on the walls, and he even painted the floors to make it look like a stone pathway leading to the back. He was working on opening up a small back patio area, using some old tires for flower pots and a pail for another running water fountain. Even the back seating area was made to look like you were in a garden patio, complete with vines lining the walls and stained glass windows making you feel like you were on the outside looking in.



We spent some time talking with the owner. The entire time we were there not a single other customer came through the doors. Apparently Willow Coffee has been open for 5 years. The owner (well one of the owners, we did not meet the other one) is an artist and he wanted to open up a business that would allow him to spend more of his time doing what he loved. He was using a very small espresso machine, one that you'd find in some kitchens (the kitchens of people with money that is)and not the commercial grade espresso machine all other coffee houses use. He explained their other machine broke and until he gets the money for a new one, that was what he was using. He said that at night it got a lot busier, and that it was more of an adult crowd. Which is good with me, I'm not huge fan of the frappucino drinking teenagers anyway. His menu was small, about the size of a poster board. It was the usual chalk board coffee shop menu of course. I will say that unlike the other huge chalkboard menus I have seen, this one had about 4 items listed on it and they were all the basics (latte,coffee,mocha). His syrups weren't listed anywhere so I had to look through to see what he had. They were all sold out of pastries by the time we got there, apparently they sell out in the morning.




Our drinks came in huge ceramic mugs (green points!!) and while mine could have been a little hotter and Chad's a little cooler, I think they both turned out really well. We did have to wait a little while for our drinks, he could only do 2 shots at a time so making 2 espresso drinks took a bit. But sometimes I think it's okay to wait a bit. I have to remind myself it's not all about *quick* quick* quick all the time. I did watch his pull the shots and they came out very nicely. The crema was thick and perfectly timed. I have to say while the owner didn't seem to have a passion for coffee, he definitely did have a passion for his customers. He seemed genuinely interested in getting to know us and inviting us to come back later on for the "night life" there. They had a small stage set up with a guitar so I am assuming he has live music and such at night. He did mention a few times the "lively debates" that occur after hours so I wonder what goes on there after the sun goes down:)



The price was very reasonable, we paid $7.25 for the 2 espresso drinks and $2.75 for the americano we had to go. No punch cards but I got the feeling if you frequented the place you probably got tossed a freebie here and there if you came often enough.

All in all I would say I will definitely be coming back to Willow Coffee.

In these tough economic times, when you see a business that is struggling like this one is, you WANT to help. He is a perfect example of a businessman that is doing everything right, the coffee is good, the customer service is excellent...and he is hanging on by a thread. Talking with him he spoke about the RTA station right across the street and how he gets zero business from them. He even put $1 off coupons on all the cars and at one point even tried placing a kiosk right where the riders were getting on and off..and he was barely making enough to pay the person running the kiosk. I asked him why that was and in the end people feel more comfortable going to a chain. Asking the public to step out of their comfort zone and try something new is difficult. We don't have to live in a Starbucks world where everything is nameless and faceless. We can support our local businesses and keep them alive in a time where it's the most difficult to stay afloat. I think that is a part of the reason I do this blog. Because there are so many little shops out there,I want to shed light on the independent business owner. They are truly the heart and soul of our society. If we all just stop for a moment and make that choice to support our own people, support our neighbors...I wonder...what a difference that would make.