Analog Coffee

Analog Coffee

Description on  Analog Coffee website : Modern American coffee shop located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Serving a rotating cast of exceptional local roasters and Fresh Breeze Organic dairy.

Neighborhood:  Capitol Hill

Address: 235 Summit Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102

Music playing: 4th Chamber by GZA

What we ate/drank:  Macchiato & Mighty O Sprinkled Donut

Comments:  First of all, all hail the WU!  When I walked in 4th Chamber by GZA/Genius was playing not on Spotify or Pandora, not from a iphone playlist, not from a CD even. It was playing on a motherfucking turntable, yo!    This is the 3rd coffee shop I’ve noticed with a turntable, Slate Coffee Roasters and Convoy Coffee, being the others.

If you’re not looking for Analog Coffee, you’ll miss it. There is huge burgundy awning that wraps around this corner spot, but there’s no signage with the exception of a small wooden sign they place on the sidewalk.  Because this is smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood, finding parking might be a challenge. But being on a nice quiet street away from the hustle and bustle of Broadway Ave and the Pike/Pine corridor is a major part of it’s appeal.  My understanding is that it used to be an old gym, but it feels like an old general store that you might find in Mayberry.

It  has an intimate feel, but it doesn’t feel crowded. The walls, ceilings, stools are all white and there’s art/posters hanging on the walls, but the linoleum floors and weathered counter sure does make it feel like an old general store. Outside, there are a bunch of chairs out front and also around the corner. There’s a high counter with stools that run all the way from the door to the back of the café. Along the wall above the counter are the days paper and some magazines clipped to a cable for your reading enjoyment. On the left near the front is a L-shaped wooden bench with a coffee table stacked with comic books. My nerdy jr high school self would be jumping for joy.  The very back has a community table that fits about 8, which would be the best place to work on a computer if you needed to. Also in the back is a standing counter if you want to watch the barista do his thing. I also noticed they have a projector so they could show videos/tv on the white walls if they ever wanted/needed to.

The food selection was pastries. Unfortunately, I didn’t peruse the selections once I saw one last sprinkled donut from Mighty O and ordered it. Add Analog Coffee to the long list of coffee places that carry Mighty O. On the day I visited they had two brews from Herkimer(Honduras Benigno Mejia, Ethiopia Kochere) and Camber(Honduras El Tanque & Ethipoia Guji Uraga) each, but I ended up getting a macchiato.  They also sold beans from each of the roasters.

To me, the vibe is definitely a relaxing-coffee-in-the morning place, but not really a working/studying place.  I don’t know it just has a relaxing nature about it that would make me not want to work/study.   We just love these neighborhood cafes that are right in the middle of neighborhoods and not on main streets like most coffee places we review. I understand that putting cafes on or near main streets get volume customers, but there’s something to be said for these neighborhood cafes that either rely on the people who live in the neighborhood or have such great drinks or atmosphere that people will travel from outside the neighborhood to patronize the spot.  I’m talking about places like Seven Coffee Roasters, Lighthouse Roasters and to a lesser extent, Zoka in Tangletown.  Add Analog to the list.

Ratings(1-5)

Favorite Thing: What makes Analog Coffee different-The comics, the newspaper/magazines hanging from the wall, the fresh tunes on the turntable, the neighborhoody reel.

Atmosphere:   5

Service:  5

Food Options:   3.75

Overall:   4.5

Eavedropping  Convo: Two guys having a coffee. It appears they hadn’t seen each other in a while and may have been ex-coworkers catching up.

Dude 1(D1) – I’m been consistently working over 40 hours a week and every two weeks I have to turn in a timecard, so if I have over 80 hours worked in a two week period I leave early, so that it comes out to an even 80 hours a week.  So I worked 83 hours the last two weeks and so I told my boss that I was leaving 3 hours early on Friday.

Dude 2(D2) –Ok

D1- He told me I needed to deduct 3 hours from my time card and report 77 hours!! I explained to him that I worked an extra 3 hours and because he didn’t want me to go over 80 hours I was leaving 3 hours early. He just couldn’t understand and insisted I deduct 3 hours if I left early, so I just stayed and worked til 5:00. Then on Monday I submit my timecard with 83 hours, but I didn’t send it to Human Resources, I only sent it to him because I knew he’d blow up. Sure enough, he came to me and said, “I thought I told you that I didn’t want you working more than 80 hours every two weeks?” I told him, “yeah, but you wouldn’t let me leave early and told me if I left early I needed to deduct 3 hours. You can’t have it both ways. You either pay me for the hours worked or you let me leave early so my two weeks come out to an even 80 hours worked.”   He knows he was wrong, but was trying to scare me into working longer. I’m one of the top salesman in the company. I just saved this company millions by talking a customer out of leaving us and to come back when they already made the decision to leave us!

D2-You really need to tell this to Rick to make sure he knows.

D1- Oh, I did. Another thing my new boss wants me to do. If I make a sale, he wants me to double check with him before agreeing on the terms and price.  I’m not gonna act like a used car salesman, where I have to pretend to check with my boss to make the deal final. I told him if he wants me to check in with him before finalizing a deal with a customer, he’d better call them himself and explain the situation. I’ll look like a spineless dumbass if I don’t have the authority to seal the deal with a handshake right there on the spot.