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Café Brio on the Arcata Plaza opened its doors to customers on April 14, and so far, business is good.
Outside, beneath a red-and-white striped awning, small, white tables hug the building and most of the time, those tables are full of people, conversing over a cup of coffee, glass of wine, or pastry.
Inside the atmosphere is similar. The windows, big enough to drive a car through, offer an unobstructed view of the Plaza. The pleasant sounds of a busy restaurant fill patrons' ears with mingled chatter, the occasional hiss of an espresso machine, and the clank of spoons as they scrape the bottom of white porcelain bowls for that last bit of soup.
The constant flow of customers is an indication that business is good, but many restaurants have come to Arcata over the years, only to close their doors a few months later. After the new business buzz wears off, will Café Brio still be around? Chances are it will.
It is what happens behind-the-scenes that gives Café Brio staying power in Arcata. The owner of Café Brio, Serge Scherbatskoy, hired Steve Bohner of Alchemy Construction to transform an oil-smudged ex-muffler shop into the gleaming white haven for food production that it is today.
Bohner implemented as many green elements into the building as possible, elements that are better for the environment than standard construction materials. The exterior is covered in siding that is made out of recycled materials. The walls are packed with blown-in cellulose insulation, a mix of recycled paper, white glue, and a compound called borax that "makes it varmint resistant," Scherbatskoy said, "and five times as efficient as fiberglass." The concrete floors reminiscent of the old muffler shop could be seen as the result of Scherbatskoy taking the cheap route, but that isn't the case. Beneath patrons' feet at Café Brio, like a giant radiator, a hidden matrix of pipes carry hot water from the boiler through the concrete floor. That same water is plumbed to all the sinks in the restaurant and in this way, Café Brio heats the building and provides hot water for its food production needs from the same source, a method that is good for the business and good for the environment, something that is important to many Café Brio customers.
Joyce Plath, 64, of Arcata, a local building designer has been to Café Brio several times. "It is important to me to know that they did everything possible to create a green building," she said. "But an eco-savvy building isn't enough to retain customers, the quality of food is important too."
From the dining room there is an open hallway that allows customers to see into the kitchen and catch a glimpse of the people who make up the backbone of the business. Pastry chefs dressed in tall white hats, and white aprons, take the place of the mechanics who used to roam there.
23-year-old Leah Stamper, an Arcata resident and student at Humboldt State University, is a pastry chef at Café Brio. She said she spends an average of twelve hours a day at the restaurant. She shows up to work at 3am when most people are asleep, but she does it because, "I believe in what we're doing."
Most of the ingredients that Stamper puts into the baked goods at Café Brio are organic. Kate Brown, 29, of Bayside, saw Café Brio from the Plaza and decided to stop in. She said it's difficult for her to find a good croissant. Often they tend to be too doughy, but she held up a croissant from Café Brio and with a smile she said, "See how they look more crisp?" Scherbatskoy is fond of the croissants as well, but for a different reason. "It's the only organic croissant I've ever heard of," he said.
The coffee at Café Brio is good too and the rule is not to make it until it's ordered. "Coffee is dead after four minutes," Scherbatskoy said.
A row of white porcelain funnels with filters and fresh coffee grounds sit on the counter where the baristas work. They are highly trained coffee brewers who went to San Francisco to master their trade. The most notable thing about the coffee is the taste. It lingers on the roof of the mouth long after you leave your empty cup at the table. If the coffee is an indicator for the rest of the business, then Café Brio is bound to be around for a long time.
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