Java Central: 10 places that make the Heights THE place to get a cup
Long term residents of the Heights area don’t have to probe far into our little grey cells to recall a time when, true or not, the common lament was “The Heights is nice and all, but there are just no restaurants over there.” I was thinking of that just this morning as I was considering my now-plentiful options to get some coffee.
That gripe was always overblown, in my opinion. I’ve lived in the Heights since 1988, and predating me is Someburger, Spanish Flowers, Andy’s, the old 11th Street Cafe, Texas Cafeteria, Tampico Seafood and so many other small and large places too numerous to mention. I’m not saying the neighborhood was chock full of places to eat, but it wasn’t exactly the wasteland that so many thought.
Well, much has been written about how the Heights is now something of a restaurant Mecca, with more quality establishments opening all the time along the main arteries of White Oak, 11th Street, Studewood and West 19th. The Heights is also becoming more and more well-known as Hamburger Central, with amazing fare coming from the previously-mentioned Someburger, the Creeks (Onion, Dry and, slightly to the west, Cedar), Hubcap Grill (also slightly to the west of the Heights) Beck’s Prime, and more. (I stop this list here not because I’ve run out of options but because there are simply too many to mention. Seriously, type in “hamburger” and “The Heights” in Urbanspoon, Yelp or whatever your restaurant app of choice and marvel at the list.)
But let’s begin again with the coffee. Back in 1998, on the morning of my fourth of four Heights area moves, I went out to get some of the brown elixir vitae for everyone helping us settle in. As I drove out from our West 23rd renovation job (at that point, more after-the-fall Osgiliath than Rivendell), I realized that there was nowhere for me to go in the neighborhood. So I settled on heading south to the End of the Universe on West Gray at Shepherd, choose from one of the two Starbucks there and headed back to the neighborhood wondering, as so many of us did at that time, how much money could be made by opening a simple coffee shop in the Heights.
That gripe was always overblown, in my opinion. I’ve lived in the Heights since 1988, and predating me is Someburger, Spanish Flowers, Andy’s, the old 11th Street Cafe, Texas Cafeteria, Tampico Seafood and so many other small and large places too numerous to mention. I’m not saying the neighborhood was chock full of places to eat, but it wasn’t exactly the wasteland that so many thought.
Well, much has been written about how the Heights is now something of a restaurant Mecca, with more quality establishments opening all the time along the main arteries of White Oak, 11th Street, Studewood and West 19th. The Heights is also becoming more and more well-known as Hamburger Central, with amazing fare coming from the previously-mentioned Someburger, the Creeks (Onion, Dry and, slightly to the west, Cedar), Hubcap Grill (also slightly to the west of the Heights) Beck’s Prime, and more. (I stop this list here not because I’ve run out of options but because there are simply too many to mention. Seriously, type in “hamburger” and “The Heights” in Urbanspoon, Yelp or whatever your restaurant app of choice and marvel at the list.)
But let’s begin again with the coffee. Back in 1998, on the morning of my fourth of four Heights area moves, I went out to get some of the brown elixir vitae for everyone helping us settle in. As I drove out from our West 23rd renovation job (at that point, more after-the-fall Osgiliath than Rivendell), I realized that there was nowhere for me to go in the neighborhood. So I settled on heading south to the End of the Universe on West Gray at Shepherd, choose from one of the two Starbucks there and headed back to the neighborhood wondering, as so many of us did at that time, how much money could be made by opening a simple coffee shop in the Heights.
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