Preserve and Gather

Comments: Our children’s daycare is nearby and we’ve been told about Preserve and Gather but it’s been an afterthought as a cafe to visit. I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much when I saw the outside. Preserve and Gather is at the bottom of a newer condominium right on busy NW 85th St in Greenwood. As we walked up we noticed the nice patio that had a long bench and few tables and thought, “well, at least they have a nice patio”.

As soon as we stepped into Preserve & Gather our whole perspective did a 180. The first thing we noticed was how bright and airy it was. We also noticed it had a neighborly vibe-tables with families, people enjoying newspapers, lots of people in conversation. It was a lively atmosphere. It didn’t have the commuter feel like so many cafes have of ordering a drink to go and leaving. Nor did it have the library feel of dead silence in a packed cafe with computer campers. There’s a time and place for both of these types of cafes, but there’s something about the feel of a community/neighborhood focused café like Preserve and Gather that makes you want to hangout, enjoy the space and return for more visits.

We intended to just get a quick drink and ordered a mocha and cortado, but we couldn’t help but notice the case full of both sweet and savory baked offerings. We asked if everything was made in-house and the person at the cash register said, “Yes, everything in made here” pointing to their open kitchen. The barista spoke up, “She’s being modest. She made everything in that case”. I believe the cashier and barista were the two owners. We asked the cashier/baker what her favorite is. She mentioned she likes savory more than sweet and recommended the caramelized onion and gruyere cheese bun, which we ordered. It was a reasonable $3.75. It did not disappoint. It was light, flakey and was like eating French onion soup as a pastry. The cortado was perfect and the mocha had a huge marshmallow added. I believe they use Conduit coffee beans, but I did notice they were selling bags of Silvercup from Everett and Fulcrum Coffee from Seattle, so I’m not sure.

Once sitting down to enjoy our drinks and bun, we really got a sense of the details of the cafe. You can’t help but notice the huge geometrically stenciling in gold against a blue wall. You’ve got the industrial feel with exposed piping and ventilation, concrete floors, Edison bulb lighting and the use of pipes to create magazine racks, coffee tables and high counters. But you’ve also got the pops of homeiness-the various potted plants throughout, the bright yellow wooden benches in front, the umbrella stand, the old-fashioned water jug, the community newspaper and magazine racks. It’s a perfect balance.

We already mentioned the seating on the patio and the yellow benches in front, but there is ample seating all around the space with 3 tables of 6 for groups or community sharing, 6 high counter stools looking out on 85^th Street and at least 4 tables of two along the east wall. Besides coffee, they have around 10 choices for loose leaf tea, kombucha, beer and wine. I already mentioned they make all baked goods in house, but for other food options they have yogurt, toasts with toppings, sandwiches and various plates.

One thing to keep in mind is that they don’t have wifi or a lot of outlets, which might be a deal breaker for some who want to work or study there, but I can tell you it doesn’t seem to have hurt business. It may very well have helped business, knowing you are likely to find a seat since there won’t be any “computer campers” taking up a seat for hours. It may make this a first option for those who want to meet up with friends over coffee. I’m sure this was a conscious decision by the owners which I presume helps define the “Gather” in “Preserve and Gather”. It’s a place for people to gather and encourages conversation instead of silent laptop zombies. Another thing is that parking might be a challenge since there is no dedicated parking spaces.

The last observation we noticed and find refreshing is that among the people working at Preserve and Gather they exhibited a sense of pride in their café. Many cafes in Seattle feel like they phone it in and although they make a great coffee, the place is a mess or it feels like the worker is just biding their time until they can clock out. They don’t really care about making the café a comfortable and clean place to relax. The short time we were at Preserve and Gather, I saw the workers constantly cleaning, constantly straightening up, making sure the water jug was full, wiping counter tops and tables of crumbs and spilled liquid. They were not standing around, looking at their phone waiting for the next customer. This type of pride shown by the workers at Preserve and Gather really made an impression on us.

Preserve and Gather won’t be at the top of my list if I need to work remotely, but it will surely be at the top of my list for meeting and catching up with friends, getting a coffee/snacks/pastries with my wife and kids or bringing out-of-towners to a one of a kind Seattle café. I know it will be clean, I know we are likely to get seats, I know we will get quality coffee and food and I know that first time visitors will be impressed with the space like we were.

Checkout this video from their Kickstarter campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1456834651/preserve-and-gather-a-cafe-in-greenwood-seattle-wa