Woell looks on as Annie Tabler surfs (Image: Online Cafe)
We first met Nick Woell as he was working to open a new coffee shop out of the situation left behind when the Online Coffee Company shut down earlier this year. CHS caught up with Woell to talk about his plans to revamp the cafe, its history, and the recent flurry of business openings on Olive. Woell told us about changes he has already made to the space, which include ridding it of its late 90s aesthetic and supplying customers with modern conveniences such as scanners — and an extension cord.
How did you meet the previous owner of the cafe? Well, I moved here back in 2005. I bummed around for a while, and avoided getting a job until I maxed out a credit card. Then I walked around dropping off resumes. I got a job at Online Coffee Company and started managing soon afterward. Online Coffee Company had two locations then. The previous owner, I guess you’d call him a general manager, took care of the financial aspects of business. I took care of human resources, and ordering.
Have you become better acquainted with other businesses on Olive since acquiring ownership of Online Cafe? Yeah, absolutely. Everyone’s been so kind and welcoming. The neighborhood’s really booming. Bleu Bistro’s Grotto moved in across the steet, CC Attle’s just reopened, Tommy gun actually opened the same day we did. A Chinese restaurant is opening with a nightclub in the back. They expect to have a very heavy flow of clientele.
Where is your favorite spot in the neighborhood for a cup of coffee besides your own business? Really depends. The big players, Vivace, Victrola, Vita, and Bauhaus, have made great environments to hang out in. We’re probably in the biggest connoisseur market in the whole world for coffee. We try to provide the absolute best coffee we can, especially in terms of presentation. It’s not an easy thing to have a coffee shop on Capitol Hill.
I read that on your opening weekend a guy made what was apparently one of a series of attempts to kill himself by jumping from a nearby first story window. Has this happened since then, or has he finally realized that jumping from that height won’t work anyway? (Laughs) Yeah, he was in the same condo as one of our most frequent customers. I was disappointed that the police had to shut down the whole block. We lost half a day’s worth of business. Other business owners in the area felt the same way.
He might have twisted his ankle. The only thing below him was a couple of bushes, he probably would have just gotten scratched up.
You mentioned previously that you want to make Online Cafe’s appearance more contemporary. Now that Hot Topic has closed, what more can be done to purge the cafe of a 90’s aesthetic? Well, basically the previous owner started the place in ‘99 and hasn’t changed anything about it since then. We repainted, added an additional outdoor patio, widened the path and added a few more tables and chairs. The tattoo shop across the street, Artful Dodger, is going to paint a mural along the wall. We’re also planning to put an awing over the primary patio so people can be out there on their laptops when it’s raining.
(Image: CHS)
So, you’re keeping your original coffee, but switching roasters. What effects do you hope this will have on the flavor of the coffee? It’s virtually the same coffee, we just don’t have space to roast in-house anymore.
Have you made any other changes to the menu? We’ve expanded the pastry section, and added panini, breakfast sandwiches, and bagels. We’re trying to bring in a breakfast and lunch crowd. Now that summer’s here, we’ve also started serving Otter Pops.
You mention that you’re making technological improvements to the original Online Coffee setup. Oddly the only one of these improvements mentioned (with great excitement!) on Yelp so far is the addition of an extension cord on the deck. Any further plans? I’ve upgraded the computers and bought a new scanner. We’ll phase out the desktops eventually if they’re no longer needed because of Iphones and laptops. The library is always packed with people using their desktops though–I don’t see this changing any time soon.
Yeah, I always go to the library to use their printer. So, though Online Cafe is under different management than Online Coffee Company, it is keeping many of the original baristas. Does this having anything to do with four of these baristas being voted Seattle’s sexiest barista by The Stranger since 2003? (Laughs) Only one of those sexy baristas has been around in the past two years. She was actually the manager of another location. That was a tough decision when the two other locations closed, because between the three we had a staff of 25. We had to choose staff based on merit, friendship, who we thought would work best. We’re trying a more communal management style–everybody brings ideas to the table, I’m totally open to ideas from staff and customers.
