Common Ground Coffee and Cupcakes recently opened in downtown Renton ( 900 S. 3rd, 425-235-1717), and they seem to have become immediately popular.
What are they doing right? And do they deserve to have a bang up business right out of the gate?
1. Cupcakes are trendy. They may be full of fat and sugar and white flour, but they're delicious and addictive. Common Ground always has about eight different varieties on hand, made on the premises, including chocolate, coconut, strawberry, vanilla, etc. They even have a sugar free, splenda sweetened cupcake, which I had and loved.
2. The place is classy looking, in an upscale hip kind of way, with comfortable leather chairs and nice wood furniture. They spent some money on this place...It's tasteful looking.
3. They use Caffe D'Arte coffee, which is one of the better roasters around here, and they have nice large ceramic cups for the "for here" orders. They do pretty "latte art", like the foam in the shape of a heart.
4. Service is friendly and efficient.
So what's not to like?
Really I have only minor quibbles. I prefer funky places for espresso, like the Jet City down the road full of tacky and kitschy stuff, places that don't even try to be sophisticated.
Not that there's anything wrong with class and sophistication. I was not uncomfortable at Common Grounds. It's a pleasant place, and the cupcakes are great.
But it's also a bit expensive.
I've always been partial to gargantuan portions, and cupcakes are like done in two bites.
A 12 oz double with a cupcake cost six dollars plus.
But it's not more expensive than Starbucks, and a better place to hang out for my money.
7 comments:
My wife and I stopped in last night to check out the new place. Honestly, we were a little disappointed. It was about 7pm, and the cupcake selection was pretty picked-over. The cupcake we chose (the Cafe D'Arte) was good, and the chai latte was good, but I have to agree that the price was a bit on the high side. But my biggest complaint, and the reason that we won't return anytime soon, is that while we were there one of the employees started cooking up some fish! Don't get me wrong, I love fish - but the fish smell was overpowering and really didn't fit with the coffee shop atmosphere. In fact, it was pretty much a deal breaker for me. So I wich them well and hope they get it right, but won't be returning anytime soon.
Joe
J and i went there tonight, and we had the Cafe D'Arte cupcake and some D'arte drip and latte to wash it down. the white cupcake was moist and the coffee frosting a light, honest butter cream. the latte reminded my wife that yes, she has been comprimising all these years while drinking Starbucks. this coffee was rich and strong, not a hint of bitterness.
no fish was cooked while we were there, just cupcakes, which smelled really good and made me think that i might have a go at a 2nd one -- next trip.
My wife and Ie went to Common Ground Coffee at around 7 pm on a Wednesday evening. They close at 7 and didn't have much in the display case. However, they were very accommadating. They had baked some cupcakes for the next morning but were happy to frost some up for us on the spot. These were so moist and fresh. We were hoping to stay for our coffee and cupcakes. They also accomadated us even though we stayed till 7:45. Non hurry at all. They open during the weekend till 9pm. So we will come back after dinner on those nights for desert. The coffee was great too. Strong not bitter. Very smooth... Classy ceramic cups. Cool. Latte heart in my cup. Very cool...Comfortable leather chairs. They told me to prop my feet on the bright red leather ottoman. More coool. I was in bliss, right at home. So many new magazines to read, I had trouble deciding. I'll come back just to catch up on my reading. Much better than going to the library. Nice music. XM radio, they said. They have free wi-fi too. Next time I will come in with my laptop.
We stopped in and really enjoyed it... I do wish they had possible a bran muffen or something a bit healthier to snack on. The prices were fair considering the nice ambience that we got to enjoy.
I go to this place at least once a week. I always get a lemmon cupcake. Sometimes they don't have any out but they will make a fresh one for me. I like that the cupcakes are always fresh made with quality ingredients.
I know you posted this a while ago, but I just wanted to comment because I just tried this place. I thought it was good, not great. The frosting was kind of grocery store cake style to me. Not that there isn't a time or place for this, but for the price I thought it could have been better.
I love their "sweet 16" cupcake. It's deceptively NOT too sweet. A pink crown of icing dipped heavily in coconut flakes, YUM! I'm a sucker for those and if I get there in the mornings they usually have enough of those to give me 4 to take home in a cute pink box. Yes, at 2.50 a piece they add up but I've paid more at other places. Con's, a couple of times around 6 pm they were out of the ones I wanted. Also, they get a lot of special orders so they do concentrate on that end. Still they should always have one or two of whatever you want as it doesn't take much time to frost one out.
About Jet City Expresso, what an eye sore. Sorry, but their "kitsch" is lost in the junk collection and even if I'd want to buy something I couldn't get to it. It's a tight space for all their open space right outside the door. Talk about the under utilization of prime real estate, I'd have a drive thru, a patio with plenty of seating but the owners don't seem to care about much about appearances. Even if they didn't want to capitalize on their good location, for the love of pete, clean it up out there! Someone send these people a few geraniums - maybe the color would lure more customers. This is one customer that sees no appeal in this place at all. The coffee is only average and forget seating. A few loyalists have their names taped to the back of them. (seats) :-)
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