Schondecken’s

Portland loves coffee – do you think the weather has anything to do with it?  I’m not crazy about going into restaurants alone but coffee shops are another matter.  It’s a true pleasure to step inside, inhale the rich aroma, order whatever sounds good, find a comfortable seat and then sit and enjoy the experience.  It’s not unusual for a patron to be alone and, like everyone else around me, I find myself checking my email on my phone, reading a newspaper left behind by others, or catching up on a good book.  Folks are friendly, easy to engage in light chatter but also aware of a wish to be left alone.  I sit as long as I want or, as is more common, until duty calls – picking up Wesley from preschool at 3:15.  My little neighborhood has probably 10 coffee shops – from the ubiquitous Starbucks down to tiny drive-ups not much bigger than a phone booth.  Schondecken’s is my latest find - right across from our local post office. Usually when I am at the P.O. I’m driving and therefore focused on what is happening in traffic – bicyclists, availability of parking spaces, pedestrians carrying large packages to be mailed, etc.  I don’t have time to notice surrounding shops.  But today, while running across the street to drop a letter into the mailbox, Schondecken’s sign, “Coffee, Tea, Spices” caught my eye.  Spices?  I needed ginger – maybe I could get some along with a latte.  I walked up the outside stone stairs and stepped into a world far removed from Starbucks.

Schondecken’s is typical Portland - an old 1920s era Craftsman house converted into a store. The outside is painted bright red and needs some work.  The interior is dark – original wood paneling with lots of coats of paint on the trim.  I suspect if I looked closely I could find evidence of several earlier colors.  All the furnishings and woodwork are old and a bit tired.  There are maybe 5 small tables, each with two chairs, and all were empty.  The original porch (now enclosed) had a coffee mill for grinding any beans you might chose to buy.  There were piles of magazines on a side table –  fashion, housekeeping, women’s issues, news, environmental concerns, entertainment, animals, science - all higgledy-piggledy.  The counter had a limited amount of pastries made elsewhere (from Costco, I'm guessing) so clearly the quality of the “go with's” was not a major concern of the owner, a woman my age, who stood behind the tall counter surrounded by the paraphernalia of coffee.  Long shelves extended along one wall, each full of oversize jars of teas, coffees and yes, bulk spices. I found myself studying the owner and wondering about her priorities re: her business.  Was she near enough to retirement that she didn’t want to invest any more money into it? Did she even have money for improvements?  Did she believe that Starbucks-types wouldn’t come in anyway so why bother with change?  Or was all this presumption on my part – perhaps she likes it just the way it is.

I brought the jar of ginger to the counter and she weighed out an ounce - $1.40 – and then made my latte.  I sat down and picked up a magazine.  I haven’t read Better Homes and Gardens in years.  Halfway through I found a recipe from Joanne Weir that I wanted to try.  I pulled out my phone and started typing it in, ingredient by ingredient.  Halfway down the list the owner noticed and said, with a degree of disbelief in her voice, “You’re not copying that are you? Take the magazine.”  I turned to her and said with gratitude, “Thank you, I’ll drop it off tomorrow.”  “Don’t bother,” she laughed, “They are there for you.  My customers bring them in.  You can have it.  If you have any magazines you don’t want, drop them off and add ‘em to the pile.”  That started our conversation.  She has owned the business for about 15 years and enjoys dealing with her local customers.  While we chatted a young woman came in to ask if she could use the coffee mill to grind her own beans.  I thought that was pretty nervy but the owner just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Of course” and pointed to the porch area where the coffee mill stood.  When the young woman had trouble operating it, the owner came from behind the counter to help. ‘Hmmm,” I thought, “This probably wouldn’t happen at Starbucks.” 

When the young woman left I asked how often locals came in with requests like that.  She said that the most amusing were the young men who lived a few houses down.  They like to cook on weekends for their girlfriends and will come in with recipes in hand.  They’ll ask for “1/4 teaspoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon of chili, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano” and she will measure it all out and sell it to them, little bit by little bit.  She understands they are new to cooking and not used to the concept of keeping larger quantities of herbs and spices on hand.  So funny.  As she shared more stories I realized what a gift local coffee shops are.  Don’t get me wrong, I go to Starbucks.  As a former economics teacher, I am impressed with the corporate culture and policies of Starbucks.  They are good to employees.  They offer a consistent product.  But they also don’t offer what Schondecken’s does – a wide range of service tied to a strong sense of local community.  I’ll be back – with magazines to add to the pile.  I also look forward to sampling each of the small coffee shops in my neighborhood.  How many other treasures like Schondecken’s are waiting to be discovered?