When the quality of life means nothing in the face of economic pressures to perform in the quest for greater and greater profits, the luxuries as perceived by those comfortable with a service will have to suffer as their favorite places of business give way to the corporatized franchises that pander to a banal population looking for conformity over something unique and different.
Sure, tastes and attitudes change, but the sad disappearance of those places where friendships develop between customers and staff grows more and more common, or maybe I’m waxing nostalgic for something I’m imagining as I am failing to find those new mom & pop shops as I become fixated on the places I habitually return to.
As I take time to write this post in the closing days of the life of King Coffee Roastery on Union Hills Road in Phoenix, Arizona, I look fondly upon the relationships I’ve made with customers such as Nicki and Randy in the top photo, and I appreciate Mike, the owner of the shop, who gave people like Cross-Eyed Ethan an opportunity to overcome his sight handicap as he nearly always missed pouring various liquids into the cups they belonged but no one could say he wasn’t entertaining in some seriously strange way.
The situation here a week ago was that the shop was going to close, and that was that. In the intervening days, a buyer happened upon the scene and while King Coffee in this location will cease to exist, something new will be taking its place. As far as the regulars are concerned, I’m sure that many of them will continue to frequent the shop as, obviously, it must have been convenient for them, aside from having a product they enjoyed. And maybe some faces will remain familiar as a couple of current employees might be able to stay on, such as Dakotah and Natasha.
Sadly, or maybe fortunately, Caroline and I will be traveling on King’s final day, so there will be no sad goodbyes, and now that we have learned about the transfer of ownership, there may not be much change of much at all regarding the idea of a coffee shop still operates in this space. Monday after our return could be an interesting moment when I meet the new owner and start finding out if the culture of my current favorite coffee shop will mostly remain the same or evolve. Mind you, evolution, in my view, is a good thing, while extinction is just bad news.
After all the years of me coming to King, most often in solo mode, Caroline joined me in order to try a waffle that she had been admiring last week prior to our trip down to Ajo and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. While I visit King to not only gab with other regulars but to try and get some writing in, Caroline enjoys the slow coffee at home on weekends, the quiet to read and knit, while somewhere in there, she carves out the time to call family in Germany so this is one of the rare days she hangs out with me at the coffee shop.
Each time I order a coffee here, I earn a King Coffee loyalty point; the count had grown to over 300 when the imminent closing of the store was first announced. Today, I’m down to about 150, and it’s unlikely I’ll be able to cash them all in. When I started amassing points, I was reluctant to trade 9 points for a free 10th cup because I wanted to support the operation. On occasion, I’d throw another customer a free drink, typically a student, someone who could use the free gift. While I’d prefer to just let the points drift into the universe, Mike, the owner, encouraged me and others who’d done the same to use them before they closed up shop or changed ownership.
Meet Master Roaster Mike, the Boss. Over the years, as I’ve relied on Mike to act as my version of the bartender therapist, he’s indulged me patiently by listening to the stories I was bent on sharing with him that likely rarely made sense and simply distracted him from getting work done. Sure, I did my best to ignore his gestures and silent pleas for me to wrap things up, but anyone who’s known me understands that I’m pretty adept at ignoring social cues and am able to continue going on for many minutes, never returning to the point of my discussion before I’ve totally lost the person. What I’m most amazed about regarding Mike’s resilience was that he’d often appear almost interested, and this could be after he’s already powered through what looked to me like a solid dozen shots of coffee and maybe a couple of espressos. How he himself didn’t blabber on, overwhelming my conversation is beyond my comprehension, or is this truly my superpower where I’m able to ignore all that might compete with me to tell me their story?
So, what was special about King Coffee Roastery that other coffee shops are missing? Well, my answer is going to go full-corn: it was love. Oh my god John, seriously, you are going for that cliche? Sure, many people visiting an independent coffee shop will say it’s that they aren’t corporate, or the coffee has a distinctive taste, or whatever. For me, hot, bitter caffeinated liquid in a paper cup and some wifi might be some generic lifeblood, but what other places are missing is the evolving flow of love that moves through places where, for a time, synchronicity opens a space in the continuum, and the people who move in and out of the front door are carrying something that lends a special air to the environment. Life in these places isn’t simply transactional; it is life-affirming, and I’ll be sad that this one has to give way to financial motives that have no room for love.
Speaking of love, I’ll close this post with a photo of Val and Larry Watkins with whom I’ve shared many a conversation over the years. This happy couple of more than 31 years, while not daily regulars, drop in at least a few times a week. Hopefully, if not here in a new incarnation of King Coffee, we’ll all continue to meet somewhere nearby in the following days and weeks.
