KELSEYVILLE — The charming daughter-mother duo, Andrea Williams, 43, and MJ McNulty, 66, at the Riviera Common Grounds coffee cafe seems to be what draws people in throughout the day. That, and the coffee. Nestled in a small strip mall off Highway 281, the coffee house is still celebrating their 10th year in business.
The smell of different coffees, the sound of conversations, comfortables chairs and a couch along with the charcoal gray walls, an earth-rust colored wall and pleasant lighting greets customers as they enter Common Grounds.
Williams spoke about their Jan. 1 2020, anniversary; “The house was packed,” she said. “While our customers enjoyed the music played on the piano by my son, Andre, 18, who they have watched grow before their eyes since he was eight, we had a nice spread of food. People brought cards, flowers and wine.”
One wall is covered with customers’ loyalty cards; “buy 10 coffees, get one free,” said Williams. A unique way to keep track of them, rather than customers losing their loyalty cards, the wall keeps track of them. Local art, life quotes, knickknacks and photos cover another. Fresh flowers on the coffee table add to the pleasant smells.
Anita Baccala, one of four women and one husband, who sat around the center coffee table, said, “We love this darling place. I love the atmosphere and the people are very friendly and supportive. It’s always crowded here!”
People talked in terms of post and pre-date of the outside patio that was built in 2007, rather than how long they have been customers. Nancy Vanderputten told how the outdoor patio was built by the customers. She crossed to the wall with photos and took down a color copy of one photo. Proudly she pointed to all the people in the photo serving hot dogs. “We raised the money for the patio by having hot dog specials.”
The previous owner sold the coffee shop to the daughter-mother duo when the business started to fail after Konocati Harbor closed. The cheerful McNulty, who relocated from Woodland to do the joint venture with her daughter, said, “We had no idea what we’d given birth to. It took on a life of its own. LTD, ‘Living the dream.’”
Looking more like sisters, the two women wear matching T-shirts daily. When people have asked about how it is to work together, Williams said, “It never occurred to us that we would have issues, we’ve always gotten along.”
Another of the ladies on the couch, Leslie Rosier, said, “This is family here. Our coffee family.”
Louie Baccala, the lone man amongst the couch ladies, said, referring to the 80s sitcom where everybody knew each other’s name, “This is the ‘Cheers’ of the Riviera.”
“I’m like a house plant here,” said Bill Bluhm, who sipped his coffee slowly by the window.
Common Grounds is a customer-packed gathering place for people to get their caffeine fixes and then leave, or sit and talk about nothing and everything. They also hold a book club the first Tuesday of each month, at 6 p.m. Currently they are reading, “It All Comes Back to You.”
It is also one of several Death Cafe meeting places around the lake (third Wed of the month) where people gather to talk about death. According to wired.com, “Mortality is inevitable. Death cafes just give you a safe place to talk about it.”
Common Grounds is also a drop-spot for Lake County Organics (http://www.lakecountyorganicsplus.com) every Thursday.
“I live about a block away and I come here every day at the same time. I’ve been coming here for 10 years,” said Dennis Purcell, sipping tea out of a tall, blue ceramic mug, made by Williams. “This is where we become friends, and if people need help, we step up and help. People here get along so well that we’ve actually taken trips together.”
McNulty said that her favorite part of the day at Common Grounds is, “Seeing my people.”
Williams, who says she remembers everyone’s coffee order, even a year later, summed up Riviera Common Grounds, “We’re not in the coffee business serving people, we’re in the people business serving coffee.”
Riviera Common Grounds is located at 9736 Soda Bay Rd, Kelseyville; contact (707) 277-7710. Open M-F, 5:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat 7a.m.-4 p.m. Sun 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
