Shout Out to Our Peeps

I've been meaning for quite some time to do a post about the local businesses that we work with, procure product from, or who generally support us. I would like to extend a huge thanks to everyone and a sincere apology if I forget anyone. It would be very difficult to do what we do w/o these people. Without further ado...

Mad Hat Tea Company. Tobin and Maureen have been an indispensable source of product, knowledge, and inspiration. If and when you drop by, you'll likely see similar tea blends to the infusions that we feature in our apothecary section. This is no accident. They put together tasty combinations that are tonics for what ails you, will turn you on or tune you out. They work magic. Get in there. You can find there teas/botanicals showcased in the following cocktails: Winter Sidecar, Bleu, Endgame, and the Kokovoko.

Corina Bakery. All of those tasty cupcakes at our last 10/22 party? The ones made with Zacapa rum and Green Chartreuse? The amazing gluten free chocolate torte? The vegan(!) pumpkin pie? All made by the wonderful and talented people at Corina Bakery. Not only have they been very supportive by providing us with delicious desserts and the occasional baguettes, they also are very patient with my very last minute orders. A very special thanks to all of them, but especially to Stephanie for custom- making all of our desserts.

And speaking of the chocolate torte, the espresso in the crème is from none other than our favorite Valhalla Coffee Co. In addition to keeping me powered with a daily macchiato, they also supply the Ethiopian Harrar which we use in our cold-press coffee and is featured in the Journey to the End of the Night and the South of No North. These guys are sweethearts. Go see them, buy coffee and be happy.

Speaking of coffee, Caffe Dei. These guys also keep me powered with coffee, but more importantly, you know those vegan snacks you like? They help us get the ingredients. They make great vegan and vegetarian food in a town that needs more options. Plus, Amy's one of the sweetest people out there.

As far as the food goes, we use bread from The Essential Baking Co. and Macrina (holy smokes, do they ever make good bread!), and Field Roast, all of which are from Seattle.

Many of our regulars will notice two things: we actually do have beer and that we've been pouring Schooner Exact (which we were able to track down thanks to Barry, owner of Rosewood) for sometime. That's because they make really good beer. It helps that they are also good peeps. We are currently pouring their 3 Grid IPA and their Profanity Hill Porter. We also periodically feature a handle from the always reliable Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. (creators of the infamous Jolly Roger...). As of tonight we are pouring their Islander Pale Ale, but as soon as that's gone we will feature the Portage Bay Pilsner.

All of our design and artwork is done by the immensely talented Audra Laymon. She drew our menus and painted our chalkboard (which is displayed prominently in the photo here), and painted our outdoor sign. If you need any design work done, I cannot recommend her highly enough. Even if you don't need work done, commission her to make some art for you. It's worth it. And if you want to see her art, she's is one of the artists in the upcoming show Peanut Butter Space Jam, which will be amazing.


King's Books and Tacoma's resident kung-fu/graphic novel deciphering rock star sweet pea have been indispensable. A large portion of the 1022 lending library was donated by King's Books; sweet pea coordinates/facilitates our monthly Graphic Novel Book Club. sweet pea, thank you.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the ladies at Brilliant Cleaning that keep the bar sparkling. Jessica and Faith, thanks for cleaning up after us after the wild nights. They are still taking accounts, so if you need your house or business cleaned, give these ladies a shout.

Thanks again everyone.