Sunday, January 27, 2008

Friendly Grounds Coffeehouse in Santee, CA

A new coffeehouse just opened in Santee, CA off of Mission Gorge Rd. This coffee shop is unique in that it is run by a local church. They gave it the name “Friendly Grounds” because they wanted a friendly community coffee shop that will be a place for people to have good fellowship, coffee, music, counseling and prayer. They wanted to live out the Gospel message that Jesus died for sinners instead through having a local business.

I checked it out over the weekend, and I must say...I was surprised with what I saw. The coffeehouse staff were very friendly, so their core values seem to be passed down to the employees. When I told the barista I wanted coffee and told him I did not want cream, both employees behind the counter smiled and said, “That’s the way to drink coffee: black!” They then began to chat telling me a few other coffees I might like that are strong and rich! The coffee could have been a little more hot, but at least it did not burn my mouth like Starbucks does!

Friendly Grounds is a very large coffeehouse with lots of tables, a conference room (for local businesses or church groups), a prayer or Bible study room, leather couches, a couple of big screen TV’s and a play area for the kids. The only thing I really did not like about the whole experience was the lighting. The night before I went into the place, I noticed the coffee shop, and it looked like a BIG ice cream parlor! The lighting was so powerful that it did not give the inviting and warm feeling most coffee shops tend to give out. So, if I could offer one piece of advice, more people will show up and even stay awhile if the owners could put more recess lighting or even more lamps. Besides that...Friendly Grounds is off to a good start. They also just made the decision to open their doors at 5am to catch the traffic folks.

Located
Next to the Santee Public Library off of Carlton Oaks & Carlton Hills Rd.