I'd really like to pursue this topic. Let's use this thread and the wiki to establish a formal idea of what our Coffee District consists of, what kind of signs we'd eventually like to promote it with, who our anchor businesses are, etc.

There are two ways to make new pages. You can do a search for what you're looking for and then click "create page" or you can just make a link to it somewhere, which will show up red, then just follow that link.

Perhaps we could embed a custom google map, or since we're supposed to be open source about things, we could make a map using http://www.openstreetmap.org.

Regarding embedded maps, I think it is much better to post a jpg of screenshot that links to the map if you click on it. Every time somebody puts an interactive google map on their blog, the slow computer at my office overheats itself. I read blogs (including urbanSTL) through google reader, and this means an old post tends to have to be reloaded again and again long after I've read it. Dotage was posting streetviews a lot for a while and that was way too much for this fragile relic I'm using. (Fastest internet in the world... slowest computer, I blame HDD Sheriff)

Regarding the dimensions of the map, I think that's something that we should discuss here on this thread.

Some of the roasters, like Goshen, are far far from the Grove. Other's are certainly in the proximity. If we're talking about a future district with unique signs and design elements, it should be small enough to walk from one end to the other. I'd say not much beyond FPSE. Alex is the expert on that. I put this up in response to his blog entry.

Here's a link to a Google map I did quickly... There are three big roasters: Thomas Coffee, Ronnoco and Kaldi's. I put Northwest on there as well since it's just a few blocks away.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 81f3d1781f

So Alex, I noticed the Tweet back and forth between you and Mayor Slay. Anything coming from that?

What do people think of the boundaries Alex put on the map? I posted it on the wiki under external links. It is significant that Northwest is also on Boyle? It's about 8 min away according to google maps, which is like walking from Delmar Station to the Delmar Lounge. I'd say it is too far to be counted.

How retail coffee shops? What is there within a ten minute walk?

For retail shops one can just bring up STL on google maps and search for "coffee," of course. I included the roasters. Six North isn't far away either, but for a district I think you would want them very easily walkable. And, as I understood it, Bob's vision was to have a roasting district, a place that identifiable. In general, that would be the northeast part of The Grove, going across I-64 dilutes the "district". At least, that's what I think.

And no, my tweets to the Mayor (and most others) seem to find the circular file for tweets.

bonwich wrote:

DeBaliviere wrote:Perhaps the owners of Thomas, Ronoco, etc. and our elected officials could team up to convince Goshen to move to the Coffee District from Edwardsville.

C'mon, DeB, you know better than that. Zero Sum. Edwardsville = St. Louis.

Now, if maybe Goshen could open up a roasting facility to expand its capacity and provide better logistics for this side of the river, then we have a win-win.

Creating a district that serves to promote St. Louis as a coffee roasting center isn't zero sum.

I like the idea of a 'coffee district.'

Is there a real benefit to roasters beyond like-minded businesses being close together?

When the area had dozens of roasters I assume it was due to the proximity of railroads (coal delivery and beans.) I'm guessing everything's trucked in nowadays. Do railroads and potentially ocean-going barge traffic have an influence on this?

BTW, I assume Dana Brown has gone away. Haven't seen them. They were still around when we left for Atlanta in '07. That was my FAVORITE coffee.

BrewFest is pretty popular right? All the local beer brewers gathered in Forest Park to give everybody free beer. How about a Coffee Festival? I realise that offering hundreds of kinds of free coffee samples would be bad for everybody's heads, and coffee doesn't really go with a festival atmosphere... so it'd have to be something much more laid back. Like what if all of Manchester in the Grove was closed for a day and tables and chairs were set up in the street like one great coffee house.

A basic google search reveals a Coffee Festival in New Zealand that has 250 coffees in a competition with 12 judges. Why not just have a community vote? Maybe it could be done like Taste of St. Louis and all the coffeeshops could come set up tables. Would that be insane? maybe... Ok, just roasters then. The Bath Coffee Festival looks like a good model. Barista Championship? Lots of fun competitions seems possible: best latte art, best coffee mug, best whatever. There are coffee tradeshows and NYC has educational seminars at their Coffee and Tea Festival. They have a monthly newsletter too.

A newsletter or blog makes sense. Maybe a few Grovers could get together and get semi-weekly interviews with coffee shop owners around town about what their customers like and what they themselves think about the city's coffee culture. Interview the local roasters too, and keep plugging the idea of the coffee district and perhaps a festival. Maybe different business owners decide to advertise with the publication, and eventually it gets picked up by the RFT or Sauce Magazine. If the name is Grove Coffee District Gazette, then the success of the publication would solidify the idea of the district.

^Fascinating idea. At the very least, people do love a good party, and it could provide for increased attendances nearby. Even noting how successful Schlafly is each year with their coffee stout release, I'd say there's a market of foodies who'd dive in.

Meanwhile, for the discussion of business relocation into the area, I'd like to provide a Wikipedia link for the Cluster Effect, a position made by Michael Porter who's pretty much the world's greatest business strategist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_effect

I agree with Bonwich that we don't need to try to poach a company from Edwardsville just to relocate them here, but I think the increased effectiveness and maturation of the "Coffee District" could lure in coffee companies from outside Metro StL.

^Cleveland has made an interesting move. They've got this huge new specialized convention center going in that will cater to medical devices and pharmacutical companies. Their basic idea is that if Cleveland is the place to be to get a good deal on a DaVinci, then a lot of companies are going to need to relocate there. They're banking on the Cleveland Clinic and hoping to lure in allied industries.

Related to the tradeshow idea above, a few coffee conventions might have an impact. What other city is doing something like that? Is there a big roasting warehouse that could be converted into a coffee convention center? I just posted something on my blog about Neighborhood Heritage Centers, and in the coffee district that might translate into a small coffee museum with a history of the commodity and of the St. Louis coffee industry. Just an idea. Outside of London, there are very few coffee museums in the world.

If local boutiques sold coffee-scented candles, those might sell too...

Alex Ihnen wrote:There are three big roasters: Thomas Coffee, Ronnoco and Kaldi's. I put Northwest on there as well since it's just a few blocks away.

Maybe we could invite Chauvin Coffee on Meramec to the party well.
http://chauvincoffee.com/index.html

^I'm not implying the business should go away, but I am doubting how long it will stay. Grain silos and light rail are unusual partners.