When Angelo Rodrigez bought the former Riverside Perk he had big ideas. He had many ideas to bring some excitement and neighborhood family fellowship into the area where it seemed to be lacking. When I met Angelo for the first time, I saw a young dreamer. A guy that spit out creative ideas like a rapper spits rhymes, and if you've met Angelo you know what I'm talking about.
A dreamer with his head int he clouds. This is what I saw, and this is the reason I knew that he would succeed. A man after my own heart.
There were many people that were a bit skeptical about these 'new' ideas, and, 'new' ideas are not usually the kind of talk you want to hear in Riverside, but with an amazing team by his side, including his father Mike whose cooking skills are pure magic, and girlfriend Marty Spence, an incredible woman and intellectually creative powerhouse herself, Angelo opened the doors on 1144 N. Bitting St. with a bang and has been blowing it up since.
His family is not at all new to business and making customers happy. The family also owns Red Barn, at Lake Afton, and Anna Murdocks Cafe, at Sutton Place in down town. Anna Murdocks Cafe was there serving us up some amazing carne asada at the Tall Grass Film Festival brunch at Cow Town. I had a chance to try a bowl the day before when it was being cooked up at R-Coffeehouse. This whole family is an unit, working together, and we should keep our eyes on them. I think we'll see many great things from them in the future.
Angelo has a huge heart, and loves his customers. He is constantly spinning ideas into the air like a Dj and has a lot of fun experimenting.
"Sam, what do you think about a Captain Crunch Cappuccino?"
"Hey, Sam, what do you think about a pumpkin pie latte crunch with real pumpkin pie crust crumbled over the whip cream?"
Angelo is always thinking. Always creating. He's like I am behind the counter; the Willy Wonka of the Coffeehouse.
THE MENU:
One of the incredible things about R Coffeehouse is there menu. Pancakes, omlettes, white chili, carne asada, sandwiches, and salads. I've never seen a specialty coffeehouse with such commitment to good homemade food. I dropped in for a cup of coffee and Angelo was telling me about the homemade enchiladas he was cooking up. Also for a limited time tell them that SamTheWriter or TastingThePlanet sent you in for a discount on their amazing breakfast burrito.
THE ART & MUSIC:
Another great idea of Angelo's was to embrace the art and music scene as much as possible. Whether its the new fresh art on the walls, Jazz night, poetry night, Independent film night, old school records music night, or an array of other events, Angelo loves it all and continues to find ways to incorporate a real sense of nostalgia for all customer demographics.
Angleo has shared with me several ideas he has for taking R Coffeehouse into the future and bringing Riverside and Wichita closer and closer to each other. It's all about promoting the community
I'll can't wait to see what he does next.
Hope to see you there soon.
R Coffeehouse Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 7:00am - 10:00pm
Friday - Saturday: 7:00am - 12:00am
Sunday: 8:00am - 8:00pm
For More Information:
R-Coffeehouse:
1144 N. Bitting,
Wichita Ks
(316)351-7778
FaceBook:
www.FaceBook/RCoffeehouseRiverside.com
Twitter: @TheRCoffeehouse
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I'm Samuel Connelly,
signing off.
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