It’s a late morning at Caffé Lucé, and the morning rush has subsided. Owner Marty Meisner has a little time to chat as he pours a coffee.
An enormous coffee roaster − a model called the San Franciscan that Meisner says sells for about $38,000 new − sits behind the counter. Meisner said the cafe has been running at a loss since it opened its doors in June, but he’s not nervous about breaking even.
  
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Being from Seattle, I came to Tucson and tried some of the coffee roasted out here," Meisner said. "And to be honest, it all sucks."
All the coffee brewed at Caffé Lucé is roasted right in the San Franciscan. Eventually, Meisner and his business partner, Michael Foster, plan to sell the coffee to other coffee shops locally, expanding past retail into coffee and equipment distribution.
"What we did in Seattle we did before Starbucks was even that big," Meisner said of Caffé Vita, a café and roasteria he and Foster operated in 1994.
It’s taking a different direction than other shops in town. That’s what Meisner thinks will help give Caffé Lucé an edge over other local shops. That, and having a better cup of coffee, that is less expensive.
He said customers get excited about being able to buy a small cup of coffee for $1. Roasting beans on-site is one way Caffé Lucé can sell coffee for that low of a price. The shop also offers one free refill.
"Plus, we hate pennies," Meisner said, chuckling. "I hate pennies. I’d rather figure our taxes out at the end of the month than charge a dollar nine and give the customer back pennies. We feel pretty good about that."
Meisner said the café may have to raise prices slightly in the next few months, but he plans to remain the cheapest place in town to get a really good cup of coffee.
Coffee isn’t the only thing served at Caffé Lucé. Chris Newman, 24, a recent graduate from the University of Arizona who just enlisted with the Navy, was at the shop enjoying a ginger peach iced tea.
"It’s very good tea," said Newman, who had never before been to the café. He was sitting next to a window reading Al Gore’s book "The Assault on Reason."
"It’s a less crazy atmosphere than at a Starbucks," he said. "And, I hear they have some of the best coffee in town."
Oddly enough, Newman was starting a job the next day as a barista at a local drive-through Starbucks.
A laid back atmosphere is part of the philosophy at the gently lit Caffé Lucé on Park Avenue in the Main Gate Square area across from the west entrance to the UA campus.
That’s what makes it a good place to study said Hunt Hoffman, a UA student, who was deep into his study of Marx and Engels, on this particular Sunday afternoon.
"I like the ambience, the atmosphere, because it’s nice, a quiet place to study," said Hoffman, who grew up in Douglas. "I used to go to Starbucks last semester before they opened here, but there’s not as much going on here. It’s more open."
The service at Caffé Luce is friendly, Hoffman said but, "not all over you," as it can be at other coffee houses, where exuberant baristas can be overwhelming says Hoffman, a religious studies and philosophy junior.
"It’s a sweet gig," Aaron Thurman, 20, a barista at Caffé Luce said about his job. He likes his job because, as a junior majoring in Plant Sciences at the UA, he gets plenty of time to get homework done when work isn’t too busy, like Sunday afternoon when he was sitting behind the bar with a laptop, making use of the free Wi-Fi connection.
He makes good money, too. He said he averages $10 to $14 an hour pulling espresso and pouring coffee at Caffé Lucé, making $7.50 an hour in base pay plus tips.
"The tips are really good here," Thurman, who has the words "Enjoy Life," tattooed on his left calf, said.
He said he figures that part of the reason he makes such good tips is because the customers walk away happy. That might have something to do with the café art he and the other baristas make on each latte drink.
"People get excited that they come in here and the coffee is cheap and good, and on top of that, they have baristas that do art work," Thurman said. "The people who come in here consistently like to see the artwork on top. They really know what they’re looking for."
Rosettes, Hearts, and even seasonal designs grace the foam atop each latte that comes out of Caffé Luce. It’s all in the pour, Thurman said, except for the more intricate designs such as jack o’ lanterns at Halloween that require a bit of help from a metal pick.
The busiest times at Caffé Lucé are the early morning shift, Thurman said, when there’s a line out the door waiting for coffee. But the shop gets busy at lunchtime, too, and the dinner crowd is getting bigger and bigger, thanks in part to live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Meisner has been using his connections from his time as a musician to bring acts into the shop.
He played bass in a band called Give back in the 1990s, and left the Seattle cafe and roasteria when the band was signed with Epic records. About a year after he left the company, Foster left to pursue music as well.
"We didn’t sell a lot of records," Meisner said, smiling.
But he’s using his background in music added to twenty years’ experience in the coffee industry to make Caffé Luce successful. Meisner said he is currently working on bringing new live music, including national acts, through Tucson via the cafe.
"We’re not out to conquer the world with our coffee, but every city has a niche for a cool, artistic place," Meisner said. "That’s my passion, coffee and music."
Comments
Jenna wrote on Jun 18, 2008 8:47 AM:
Go there for the coffee not the service. "
Terry Lively wrote on Jun 11, 2008 4:52 PM:
Ron Yadon wrote on Apr 24, 2008 3:14 PM:
Ron "