A Quiet Day: East Village Cafe
#7: Third Places, continued.
Recently, we visited the East Village Cafe in downtown Monterey. The location has been a coffee shop/eatery that has had several changes of management over the years. The current owner, Ryan Lama, took it on during the early Covid period (2020)—a risky time to start. For several years afterwards, the cafe remained relatively quiet. Prior to that, it had been a bustling place with regular customers and students (it’s close to several small colleges); there were poetry readings and live music.
After the change of hands, the cafe took on a more Asian ambience, since Lama is from Nepal and also runs an Himalayan-themed import shop1 next door. The cafe’s specialty is the house-made chai, which is delicious.
Nowadays, locals seem to have warmed up to the place. Groups of all sizes meet there, as well as individuals, including the ubiquitous students working on their laptops. There are poetry readings, and larger events like the International Poetry Gathering, and the Downtown Neighborhood Meetup.
I brought my Kobo e-reader2 and some pens to draw in my tiniest sketchbook (which I had bought at the import shop, last year). However, I ended up just reading, while my partner did some writing.
Here are a couple of older photos of what’s inside my tiny sketchbook. The backdrop is an ancient (1950s) typewriter handbook for aspiring secretaries.
Next to us, a wooden Buddha sits in an alcove that opens onto one of the three dining rooms in the cafe.
Above us, wooden masks look out from the wall.
Next door to East Village is the Work Horse bicycle shop, notable to me because I tried riding my first e-bike there. This was a couple of years ago. Not realizing how much heavier they are than regular bikes, I fell when trying to awkwardly dismount from the bike (which was fortunately not moving) right in front of the bike shop. I was OK—nothing broken (except my ego), and nothing sprained. But afterward, when I went into the cafe, I started feeling dizzy.
The clerks and owner kindly came to my rescue and sat me down at a table with a glass of water. I was thankful for that attention, and was later able to walk home.
On a quiet day, the front patio is populated only by chairs and tables, and a few small birds.
LINKS
“Ways of Seeing: Diary” by artist and writer Sal Randolph, with commentary on poet Harryette Mullen’s Tanka Diary from her book Urban Tumbleweed.
“Stoop Coffee: How a Simple Idea Transformed my Neighborhood” (or how the street can become a third place) by Patty Smith on Supernuclear.
Wim Wenders’ film Perfect Days, starring Koji Yakusho, will probably resonate with folks who are exhausted by the distractions of social and advertising media. It has started me thinking about what I attend to, both at home and when I’m out and about. Writing and drawing are two ways that are helping me to be more aware of the humble, yet important, things in life. Below is a clip from a scene about shadows in Perfect Days:
Seventeen toilets from Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, by Tokyo Record Style:
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It’s called “Maybe on Monday.”
A Canadian company.
I love East Village
I’m loving your third places.