Two ‘sober sisters’ open a bar filled with art, music & coffee
By Morgan M. Hurley | SDUN Assistant Editor
A new coffee shop has opened its doors at 3562 Adams Ave., nestled among a small string of businesses on the eastern edge of Normal Heights.
Called Broke Girls’ Coffee Bar, the theme of this new establishment is something immediately apparent from its BGCB logo, which was closely fashioned after the infamous but now shuttered Manhattan music joint, “CBGB,” a venue that helped make punk rock and New Wave music formidable in the 1980s.
The two co-owners also embody that theme, as April Walsh and Malakiah Hammers self-describe themselves as a couple of “over 40, old school, young at heart, punk-rocker lesbians.”
While a lot of the music they play, and the Ramones and Blondie posters they’ve adorned their walls with, may be old school, there is nothing old about this coffee bar or its offerings. In fact, they are as modern as can be.
To start, their water undergoes “reverse osmosis,” making each cup as fresh as the last. In addition, their coffee menu is broader than most.
Coffee drinkers of today have become all-too familiar with regular drip and the latte- and Frappuccino-styles of coffee, and although BGCB offers those types too, they have joined a newer coffee-making culture and are making two alternative styles their specialty.
The first is called “pour over” coffee. “I call it camping coffee,” Walsh said.
Pour over is the method of manually and slowly pouring boiling water through a filter device that contains finely ground coffee situated right above each cup. It takes a little more time, Walsh said, but for “old school” coffee drinkers, it really brings out the flavor.
The second alternative is called “cold brew,” which involves five pounds of coffee grounds mixed with five gallons of water and left to steep in a refrigerator for 12 to 16 hours. Although this type of brewing is not new to teas, it certainly is to coffee. Walsh said it offers the consumer a true iced coffee that is full of flavor and low in acidity.
“Most places just take old, leftover coffee and pour it over ice,” she said.
The pair never use preservatives, and offer free WiFi, dish out doggie treats, have rotating artists on display, and offer gluten-free goods, some of which Hammers bakes in house herself. The monthly rotating artist idea is already so popular they are booked until November.
Another progressive way of thinking is their “suspended coffee,” which allows customers to pre-purchase a cup for someone less fortunate in true pay-it-forward style.
“I already have 12 cups set aside right now,” Walsh said, adding that it helps build community. “I don’t like to turn anyone down, and this way I don’t have to.”
The physical aesthetics of Broke Girls’ Coffee Bar is gritty and rustic, but overwhelmingly warm and inviting.
The front face of the building and base of the main concrete coffee counter were made from reclaimed wood: 40 pallets that the two located, disassembled and then varnished themselves, using eight different shades. Wood tones, chalkboard paint, Spanish olive-colored walls, a hand-made steel pipe pour-over stand, iron chairs with raspberry and black accents to match their logo, and various antiques round out the motif.
Walsh and Hammers, sober 16 and 14 years respectively, met in recovery in 2004. Hammers said she had previously toiled in the Northern California coffee business for years, so when Walsh proposed cashing in her own pension to start BGCB, Hammers was in.
The two women tried out half a dozen coffee roasters before settling on The West Bean, a small “microbatched, hand-crafted” coffee roaster business on Mission Gorge Road. BGCB’s teas are also local, coming from the San Diego House in Old Town, and any baked goods not made in house come from Olive Oil Café. Walsh also makes regular trips to farmers’ markets for other items.
Though not a couple, Hammers said the two friends are well matched in their chosen workplace. “We have good balance. She likes to shop and I like to put away,” she said. “We’ve always watched out for each other.”
Walsh, who purposely put off opening BGCB until after a trip to the Coachella Festival last April, plans to launch acoustic Fridays and bands on Saturdays, and looks forward to offering “sober football,” she said, when the NFL season begins in August.
On June 15 they plan a singer-songwriter showcase on the front patio, and on June 22 two or three bands will play on their back patio.
Broke Girls’ Coffee Bar is located at 3562 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights. They are open every day until 7 p.m., opening at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. on the weekends. On special event nights, including the June 15 and June 22 shows, they will stay open until 10 p.m. You can follow them at Facebook.com/brokegirlscoffeebar.
