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A visit to SOLO Cafe in Tempe
April 16, 2008 Posted by Chris Tingom Filed under Coffee
I was invited to visit SOLO Cafe by the owners. Two gentlemen by the name of AndrewLiam Kelsey and Chad Bare. SOLO Cafe is brand new. Having only opened at the beginning of this year. They have a considerably nice shop and I was very impressed by the quality of the product. Take a look below at my latte. It was awesome.
SOLO is located in the Mill Towne Center on the southeast corner of Mill and Baseline in between Curves and Altered Ego Salon. AndrewLiam wrote to describe their product: “Our coffee is supplied by Cortez Coffee in Tempe, our tea is from Maya Tea of Tucson, our Chai is from Third Street Chai of Boulder, CO and our pastries from Jonathan Robbins Bakery in Tempe.” I love the fact that they’ve disclosed sources. There’s nothing better to inspire confidence than knowing they’re willing to do that.
The interior is really nice. Dark stained cement floors and comfortable seating make for an enjoyable place to cozy up for a few hours or more. The free wireless internet worked great, and I was able to get online without any trouble.
I thought the red bicycle in the back of the shop over the counter was cool. That along with the colorful photography on the walls made for an interesting place to relax.
Considering they are close to ASU, I wouldn’t be surprised if SOLO ends up being one of the top college hangouts for students.
SOLO also recently acquired patio furniture - enough to seat at least 15 outdoors.
SOLO Cafe
107 E. Baseline Road
A-4
Tempe AZ 85283
Phone: (480) 838-SOLO (7656)
Melissa says:
I love this place. Went for the first time a few weeks ago with a friend. She had been in only once before, and they remembered her name.
Ron Cortez says:
This is one of those rare times when passion meets creativity. They have done every single thing right and people are noticing them. As far as I can tell Andrew and Chad are a succes story in the coffee biz.
Kayakman says:
looks like a cool coffeehouse… interesting decor
Jen Melozky says:
Interesting coffee house! Great Coffee Roaster, in fact, isn’t Cortez Coffee the same roaster for INZA Coffee?? ‘Cause that’s why I love INZA, their coffee is soooo GoooooD!
I will have to stop by!
Thanks
hb says:
Yes… This coffee shop is extremely cool.
Can’t wait to drive to tempe and enjoy some coffee.
Chris Tingom says:
Hi Jen:
Yes, INZA also supplies coffee from Cortez Coffee.
Chris
Steph says:
Andrew was a well-loved barrista in Boulder and you all are very lucky to have him now in Tempe. Makes the best latte around. Love the decor.
Ryan says:
You all must try Solo Cafe. The caramel lattes are great and if there’s even a chance the owners think it wasn’t their best work they’ll pitch it and start over. This shop has it all from great drinks and music, friendly owners to comfy chairs and couches that make me want to spend the whole day. This is the coffee shop everyone has at one time dreamed about opening themselves.
hb says:
I drove there today (sunday) and it was closed.
Looked at the site and they don’t have the hours of operation.
Sucks, I was looking forward to drinking some coffee there.
Melanie says:
After all the hype about Solo I was excited to find out I’d be in the area. The coffee was great, as expected. But what wasn’t expected was a coffee shop that smelled like a salon. Maybe I was just there at the wrong time but I was smacked in the face with chemicals when I walked in the door and it lingered all the way back to the coffee bar. Fortunately I was getting my cappuccino to go.
SOLOcafe says:
Thanks for all the comments and positive response, it’s greatly appreciated.
As for the recent feedback regarding the smell of the salon, we try to strickly enforce that the door be shut whenever a perm is administered, which is very rare, and that does keep the smell out. However, it appears on that day it didn’t happen and we appologize for that. As you said you might have just been there at the wrong time and that was certainly the case as the cafe is almost always filled with the lovely scent of coffee.
Regarding our being closed on Sunday, we are open from 9:00am to 4:00pm that day, Monday - Friday from 7:00am to 9:00pm and Saturday 8:00am to 9:00pm. Hope to see you soon.
Thanks again,
SOLOcafe
Lisa says:
I’ve driven past SOLO many times, but I’ve not yet had the chance to stop and check it out. Fortunately (or unfortunately, however you look at it!) I’m about to start finals and need a place to study other than the law library (I’m in my last yr of law school and hence HATE the law library!). I’m so excited to get some quality cramming in tomorrow!
Lisa says:
I’ve driven past SOLO many times, but I’ve not yet had the chance to stop and check it out. Fortunately (or unfortunately, however you look at it!) I’m about to start finals and need a place to study other than the law library (I’m in my last yr of law school and hence HATE the law library!). I’m so excited to get some quality cramming in tomorrow in such a cute cafe!
hb says:
Thanks SOLO for the hours. I will stop by during the week. I can’t wait to check out the place.