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Pops Grows the Greens
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Ly Nguyen
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Last Updated on August, 14 2008 at 11:27 AM
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| Grace Lee and Armando Koghan describe the Mixing Bowl as a casual
eatery where friends connect through coffee and food. Oaklanders may
remember the Telegraph Avenue location as the Temescal Café where a
basic menu was offered to those living on a shoestring budget, and old
worn armchairs sat in back. The new owners refined the gritty, hippie
vibe of the old place into something sleeker and more in keeping with
other changes in Temescal. |
The Mixing Bowl (Photos by Ly Nguyen)
Grace Lee and Armando Koghan describe the Mixing Bowl as a casual eatery where friends connect through coffee and food. Oaklanders may remember the Telegraph Avenue location as the Temescal Café where a basic menu was offered to those living on a shoestring budget, and old worn armchairs sat in back. The new owners refined the gritty, hippie vibe of the old place into something sleeker and more in keeping with other changes in Temescal.
Lee has ten years experience as a personal chef and caterer, while Koghan, whom she has known since they were twelve, is a cinematographer. The aptly named Mixing Bowl offers typical Bay Area café fare with an Asian influence. Local art illuminates the wall, pressed fern accents wood panels, and food is displayed on limestone countertops.
While frequenting Temescal Café, Lee nurtured a secret fantasy of owning the place. After volunteering for several months, Lee and Koghan made an offer to build out a commercial kitchen and take over.
When the Mixing Bowl opened this past May, it was bittersweet. May recalls the initial backlash, “The old customers of Temescal Café perceived us as being bourgeois or yuppie. People were upset about the name, they wanted us to keep the old one.”
The eatery does not offer wi-fi because they didn’t want to encourage a sea of laptops. Even more noteworthy is the fact that Lee’s father grows all the greens for their menu in his modest San Jose garden.
“There were these two women who were eating here one day, and saw my dad come in with his high waist trousers carrying bags of greens. They love the idea of my dad growing organic greens in his garden, and so they keep coming back hoping to see him again.”
Grace Lee and Armando Koghan
Lee plans to keep working as a wedding planner to keep the finances sound. She also credits the husband and wife team of Sarah and Jose Chavez, who worked in Lee’s catering and wedding business before becoming Mixing Bowl’s kitchen and café managers.
“They’re like family. This job is twenty-four hours. If I need something, no matter what time it is, Sarah and Jose will jump out of bed in their pajamas and be right there,” Lee says.
Right now, Mixing Bowl’s priority is to attract a more diverse crowd. Lee’s mother once observed that the customer base seemed to be “health conscious white women and very few guys.” Lee wants there to be every reason for any Oaklander to enjoy the Mixing Bowl. They’re trying out music, film, and literary events, serving wine, and even considering a speed dating night.
The Mixing Bowl
4920 Telegraph Avenue
510-655-5630
Open 7 Days a Week, 8 am to 7 pm (Sundays until 6 pm) |
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RECOMMEND
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OAKLAND
FOOD & BOOZE
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