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Tempeasy morning [rowing, coffeeneuring]
Jul. 15th, 2024 10:38 amI made it out rowing on Tempe Town Lake this morning!
At the turnaround:
I connected up with the Rio Salado Rowing Club this time around. This was a change of pace from trying to row with the City of Tempe the last couple of times I've been in Arizona. The funny thing about rowing with Rio is they're the club where I first learned how to scull, although I didn't really row that much with other people from the club. Since then, they've grown and are more active, which is wonderful to see.
I was also very amused by their boat-naming scheme. This morning we were in the Monsoon. They also have a boat named the Gila Monster, and another one called the Superstitions. But by far, the best name is in the photo below:
Yes, a pair named the Prickly Pair, ha ha!
After I got back to the house (drove to rowing and back, bleah), I had to eat cold food (melons FTW) and then pass out for a while. It was hot today and this morning told me that if I want to row here I need to drink more beverages that contain electrolytes.
And now I am lurking in another old Tempe haunt, the Tempe Farmers Market. The Tempe Farmers Market opened up a couple years after the local grocery co-op, Gentle Strength, died. It was a long, drawn-out death for the co-op. Sometime in the early 2000's, they ran into financial trouble and wound up selling the land their building was on. The new landlord informed the co-op that eventually the existing building would be torn down and replaced with a high-rise with a Whole Foods on the first floor, so they had some time but not infinite time to find a new location. But then the expense of relocating and the risk involved in moving to a new location/etc led to a cash flow shortage, and abruptly, the co-op was closed and gone. Thirty years of history reduced to ash, the same story we saw play out time and again with businesses out here.
For a number of years, the Tempe Farmers Market operated as a market, and carried a number of convenient and good products: fresh-baked bread, eggs, dairy, and produce grown in the neighborhood 2 blocks away. When the US housing market collapsed in 2008, the lot where Gentle Strength stood wound up sitting as a flat, empty gravel lot for around 10 years. To give you a sense of the impact of the housing market collapse, it took the movement of heaven and earth just to get a pair of nearly complete high-rise towers finished in downtown Tempe at that time.
When the Whole Foods finally opened up, I could see on my visit to the Farmer's Market in 2021 that it was having a major impact on the business. So between then and now, it seems the place has transformed again. It is now a coffeeshop by day, bar/speakeasy by night, and there's a stage set up in here for live music as well. Walking in here last week made me realize I have strong sentimental attachments to this place, so I hope it succeeds in this form. The owner has always tried to support local artists, which is a big part of what creates a meaningful sense of place.
Also, the coffee is excellent. This morning I'm having a smooth and delicious Vandola:
And the space continues to have the funky character it has always had, from even before the Tempe Farmers Market days.
Less funky part in homage of history:
Behind the bar:
More fun side:
At the turnaround:
I connected up with the Rio Salado Rowing Club this time around. This was a change of pace from trying to row with the City of Tempe the last couple of times I've been in Arizona. The funny thing about rowing with Rio is they're the club where I first learned how to scull, although I didn't really row that much with other people from the club. Since then, they've grown and are more active, which is wonderful to see.
I was also very amused by their boat-naming scheme. This morning we were in the Monsoon. They also have a boat named the Gila Monster, and another one called the Superstitions. But by far, the best name is in the photo below:
Yes, a pair named the Prickly Pair, ha ha!
After I got back to the house (drove to rowing and back, bleah), I had to eat cold food (melons FTW) and then pass out for a while. It was hot today and this morning told me that if I want to row here I need to drink more beverages that contain electrolytes.
And now I am lurking in another old Tempe haunt, the Tempe Farmers Market. The Tempe Farmers Market opened up a couple years after the local grocery co-op, Gentle Strength, died. It was a long, drawn-out death for the co-op. Sometime in the early 2000's, they ran into financial trouble and wound up selling the land their building was on. The new landlord informed the co-op that eventually the existing building would be torn down and replaced with a high-rise with a Whole Foods on the first floor, so they had some time but not infinite time to find a new location. But then the expense of relocating and the risk involved in moving to a new location/etc led to a cash flow shortage, and abruptly, the co-op was closed and gone. Thirty years of history reduced to ash, the same story we saw play out time and again with businesses out here.
For a number of years, the Tempe Farmers Market operated as a market, and carried a number of convenient and good products: fresh-baked bread, eggs, dairy, and produce grown in the neighborhood 2 blocks away. When the US housing market collapsed in 2008, the lot where Gentle Strength stood wound up sitting as a flat, empty gravel lot for around 10 years. To give you a sense of the impact of the housing market collapse, it took the movement of heaven and earth just to get a pair of nearly complete high-rise towers finished in downtown Tempe at that time.
When the Whole Foods finally opened up, I could see on my visit to the Farmer's Market in 2021 that it was having a major impact on the business. So between then and now, it seems the place has transformed again. It is now a coffeeshop by day, bar/speakeasy by night, and there's a stage set up in here for live music as well. Walking in here last week made me realize I have strong sentimental attachments to this place, so I hope it succeeds in this form. The owner has always tried to support local artists, which is a big part of what creates a meaningful sense of place.
Also, the coffee is excellent. This morning I'm having a smooth and delicious Vandola:
And the space continues to have the funky character it has always had, from even before the Tempe Farmers Market days.
Less funky part in homage of history:
Behind the bar:
More fun side:
