Editors note: This newsletter was distributed before last week's come back open mic night at Kaffee Meister. The gang is back in gear every Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Hi Everybody,
The long anticipated time has finally arrived; this Thursday the Wood ‘n’ Lips Open Mike will hold its first show at our new location. Drop by, sign up, help us celebrate, and meet out new hosts; I think you’ll like them.
The new home of our open mic, the brand new Kaffee Meister in Santee, is a breath of fresh air as coffee houses go. The new concern is a family owned and operated venture and the second Kaffee Meister location. When I say “family owned and operated,” it’s meant in the most literal sense. Mike and Leslie Emmons are joined by their daughter, Elisa, and her husband Chester McLaughlin.
This summer their son Russell, while working on his law degree and before entering the U.S. Army as an officer, has been aiding the group effort—a nicer group of people you would be unlikely to find. Business meetings are held around the family table with everyone participating. The physical planning for the new location has been under the direction of Elisa who, with Chester, is managing the fledgling operation.
In addition to running this business, Elisa and Chester are the parents of three toddlers (including twins) with another on the way. If that wasn’t enough, Elisa does “lifestyle blogging”, presenting her self-created knitting patterns and other crafting projects. Chester has his own marketing technology business, aiding small business owners in identifying and addressing their marketing needs in this new age of the internet and social media.
Their other coffee shop is located just off the 8 Freeway in Lakeside at the intersection of Los Coches and Hwy 8 Business next to the Big Red Barn. The Coffee Bar and Drive-Thru is inside the Local Mercantile, a historical building that now houses a sort of antique mall. They started out there nearly two years ago with a drive-thru window and a counter adjacent to a sandwich maker’s kitchen, which they are now in the process of taking over for their own culinary purposes.
Since the closing of the Friendly Grounds, and the dearth of convenient coffeehouses, there has been a vacuum in Santee that the new Kaffee Meister has quickly filled. They have been open for one week and the place is already teeming with activity. Able management combined with a personable, well trained staff, comfortable seating, numerous tables, and wi-fi (plus an old fashioned record player playing jazz 78s) have aided their quick-start launch.
They are still working on their menu, augmenting their snack offering with pastries from Bread and Cie in Old Town, where Chester starts his day at 5:30 a.m. picking up the day’s supply. Their plan includes an eventual offering of sandwiches and soups for light meals.
We’ve missed seeing you and look forward to resuming our friendships. It’s a new room and we’ll be experimenting with our sound set up and allocated stage area. There seems to be ample room and this week will tell us how well our new home will suit us. There are bound to be adjustments on the part of all participants, but I’m sure we can handle them.
I’m excited about introducing our talented performers and our entire open mic family to our new hosts. Come by and show your support.
That’s the Kaffee Meister; located at 9225 Carlton Hill Boulevard in Santee at the corner of Carlton Hills and Carlton Oaks Boulevard.
Tim Woods, Greg Gross, and the Wood ‘n’ Lips open mic crew
