The spirit of San Francisco is alive and effectively in Molly Welton’s cellular cafe
At the end of a four-year passion project, Molly Welton has become the proud owner of a vintage Layton motorhome from the shelter-in-place. It was rebuilt in stolen moments between parenthood and work. For Welton, calling their 1960 Layton a motorhome, or worse, a trailer, it smells like laziness, togetherness. There is nothing pedestrian about her ship, nor the business she runs from her retro walls, which she calls California Kahve.
Welton feels strong these days. Your son is at school. Her husband does what electricians do all day. And she has the day to herself. So she’s working on the autumn menu: cookies, donuts and all kinds of coffee drinks.
In January, when Welton got the vehicle up and running, she ran into the Tiny Footprint Coffee Company. The goal is to plant a tree in the Mindo cloud forest in Ecuador for every bag of coffee sold. The group is climate neutral, which Welton regards as a must for coffee procurement. Among the brands offered by coffee distributor Welton, Welton has chosen Cafe Femenino, a medium roast that is grown by an all-women group in Colombia.
Welton says it is not always easy to make ethical business decisions. When you buy coffee in bulk, you can make more than a dollar for every mug sold. Buying fair, sustainably grown coffee has much tighter margins. She hopes the San Franciscans will think it’s worth it.
“It comes down to the cost,” Welton said. “Nine months later, I understand.”
Welton’s 10-foot trailer with a custom-made wooden window and bar stands by a rusty gas station on Lincoln Avenue near the wind-blown sands of Ocean Beach. It is difficult to get a parking space there every week. The Department of Health issues permits to mobile food facilities in The City that allow on-the-go stores to sell on private property or on a “public right of way”.
Despite spending thousands on a permit and surviving both the Department of Public Works’ and Public Health’s temporary extermination processes, Welton is not guaranteed parking for her drill rig.
“I actually paid someone to live down the street,” Welton said. “He’ll move his car for me when I text him at 7 a.m., which is incredible.”
This helpful local is moving house at the end of the month so Welton isn’t sure what will happen then. As a fan of San Francisco’s mobile food facilities program in general, the need to rely on the randomness of finding sustainable parking spaces is driving Welton a little crazy.
She has never worked in a coffee shop, but she was responsible for making large pots of coffee and the occasional espresso in the breakfast lobby at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, where she worked for five years. She was employed at the Four Seasons in the Civic Center when the pandemic hit Earth, making her income, at best, unreliable and sometimes non-existent.
In search of the perfect spot for morning coffee on a weekend trip to Petaluma in the spring of 2000, Welton’s husband said to her, “You’ve already gone to five cafes this morning. Why don’t you start yourself? “
The business owner, 42, attended Burlingame High School and enjoys hiking in Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Her husband came to the Bay Area from New Zealand to pursue a short-lived, semi-professional rugby career. They have called San Francisco home for 14 years.
California Kahve owner Molly Welton and her son on one of their hikes in the Bay Area. (Courtesy Molly Welton)
Welton does not believe that the business is worthwhile if it does not serve their values. Since California Kahve is only open on weekends, she spends her free time balancing her prices (a cup of drip coffee at California Kahve is $ 3-4) and morale. Instead of commercial bottles of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, she makes her favorites, like her mocha, with locally made TCHO chocolate.
“It feels different when you have a drink with fresh ingredients,” says Welton. “And people talk. They say, ‘Oh my god, this is so good.’ If you want to make a contribution to the gastronomy and beverage scene, then it’s worth it. “
She urges cafe and restaurant owners – as well as locals – to buy spices in San Francisco instead of hitting Amazon for the millionth time. She uses, for example, Rishi Tea & Botanicals and Portland Syrups, because she knows that the quality “carries over to the taste”.
“It’s night and day,” Welton said. “And it’s important to me. I want to offer something valuable and special. “
Welton has always loved food and drink, unlike many in the “industry”, as service people call hospitality. Her voice shines like a lighthouse in the windy gray when she speaks to customers. Your eyes pierce the mist. She remembers her family, all of Irish descent, sitting in the living room drinking tea and talking through the afternoon and into the night.
“Eating and drinking affect how we feel,” Welton said. “I don’t want to tell people what to or shouldn’t drink, but I’m not proud of giving people trash ingredients.”
Welton is all too aware that their business appears to be a testament to Instagram coffee culture. She sells this infamous Starbucks coffee creation, the much maligned stepson of the pumpkin latte, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. When it comes to these popular concoctions, she is thoughtful and patient.
“I’m anti-mainstream,” Welton said. “The syrups contrast with all the work coffee machines put into growing and harvesting great beans. You get choked in syrup and it’s so gross. “
But their pumpkin latte contains more fennel, ginger, and black pepper than the disgustingly sweet caramel torpedo that many are used to. She also offers a moonrose latte, a delicate rose and nutmeg drink for those unlucky enough to not drink coffee. The Afghan biscuit, a familiar treat from her husband’s homeland made with corn flakes and walnut, differs from other baked goods sold on the beaches of San Francisco.
Long time friend and coffee enthusiast Michelle Griffith says Welton doesn’t compromise on quality, which is important in understanding California Kahve’s business.
“She has a keen sense of detail and sustainability,” Griffith said of Text. “She is true to herself and the brand she creates.”
Food and drinkFood and wine
