Wenatchee’sPybus Public Market (www.pybuspublicmarket.org)is the home of the Café Columbia (www.cafecolumbia.net)coffee shop. However, the café is much more than just coffee – its’ breakfast,lunch and even an early dinner.
The Coffee and other drinks
First,the coffee: it’s from the Blue Start Coffee Roasters in Twisp (www.bluestarcoffeeroasters.com),offering many types of roasts. The café uses the Sumatran blend for the dripcoffee and espresso beans for the custom drinks. They also sell the bagged wholebeans to take home as is or for grinding them at the café first.
Thereare many other drinks on their menu: teas, steamers, Italian sodas, beer andwine –even mimosas.
Tasty Bites, Big and Small
Andwhat’s cup of coffee without something good to eat? At Café Columbia, theselection is both tempting and varied. Their tasty bites are baked in-store andcertainly have that homemade touch, a freshness and deliciousness that cannotbe found in factory-made items. Lead baker, Rebecca Watkins, can be foundpounding the butter and rolling out the dough for the flaky croissants on anygiven morning in the kitchen area of the café.
Breakfast
Tostart the day with some substance, you could try one of the breakfast wraps.They come with your choice of fillings and tortilla, be it sausage and egg orroasted veggies, to name a few options. Their small quiches are full of flavorand just the right size for one serving. The café’s Strata is a fluffy Frenchtoast-type of a meal, stuffed with either ham or a veggie option that willfulfill an empty tummy for hours.
Ifit’s something sweet you are looking for, the options are many: scones,muffins, bar cakes, carrot cake or tarts. And of course, cookies and biscottiesfor just a little something to go with your drink. Their delightful cookies areusually decorated with a seasonal theme; a temptation for children and adultsalike.
Someof the tasty bites are gluten-free to delight people with such considerations.
Lunch
Whenlunch hour rolls around, the café becomes truly busy. People line up for turkeymelt sandwiches, BLT’s or maybe for such health-conscious options as the grainbowl or one of the quality-ingredient salads. The café keeps working on theirmenu options and soups, so you never know when there is something new to try.
Dan and Cathy; Catering to Customers Near and Far
OwnersDan Rodriguez and Cathy Carlisle Rodriguez are hands-on entrepreneurs – theywork alongside their employees most days. Besides making sure the coffee shopis well-stocked and running smoothly, the Rodriguezes also cater specialevents. They create beautiful platters of finger-foods right there on thelimited counter space of their coffee shop. The catering menu is listed on thewebsite.
Special Orders
Ordersat the coffee shop can be made “for here” or “to go”. They also take specialorders to go, should you be participating in an event that calls for specialtreats.
A Warm Atmosphere
Notonly does Café Columbia offer delights for the tummy, but for the soul, too.The service is friendly and you will soon feel like visiting family. Thebaristas seem to remember most regular customers’ preferences by heart andoften get the drink ready at the sight of a familiar visitor.
Withits lively, welcoming atmosphere, Café Columbia is a place that causes one tolinger. In the warmer months, the outdoor patio is a popular place to sit andsavor a second cup of coffee while enjoying the views of the river and theactivity on the Loop Trail. All through the summer, it’s the perfect spot forobserving the osprey family’s life up on the high perch just a few hundredyards away.
Hours of Operation
Theirhours are: Sun-Fri 8-5, Sat 7-5. The full menu is available one hour afteropening until one hour before closing (the kitchen is open). When the kitchenis closed, the display case has plenty of ready-to-go options to choose from. Mostbreakfast and lunch items area available all day long.