A Flat Space To Write: Reds Coffee
Steve Beisner -- October 3, 2005
Take a trip back in time to Santa Barbara in the seventies: hot tubs were recently invented, Mountain Drive and Painted Cave were the places to be if you were young and hip (or hippie!), and a "coffee house" was a center of everything counter-cultural. Reds is more than that, but it does serve up modern technology (the Internet) blended with memories of a friendlier time.
Some coffee shops are all chrome, steel and high-tech, a style that is particularly favored by the chains, Starbucks and their ilk. Then there are the good old "American cafe" places: in reality small restaurants where you expect macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, and apple pie on the menu with their coffee.
Reds represents a third type: homey, some might say decrepit furniture: overstuffed and comfortable like somebody's past-prime living room. Miscellaneous lamps that could have come from a garage sale, with real incandescent light bulbs. Plenty of choice in good coffee, and food that tries and usually succeeds at being both good to eat and good for you.
Until I began writing this review I always thought the name had an apostrophe in it, as in "Red's Place", but more often it seems to be spelled without punctuation. Now I wonder if the name doesn't refer to a certain substance known to lead to relaxation and laid-back-ness. Yes or no, Reds is pleasantly hard to classify, due in large part to its people. The folks that work at Reds provide good prompt service, but never at the expense of friendliness.
If you have a laptop with a wireless card, you can join the many people who drop in through the day to work, read their email, or do research on the Internet -- Reds provides free Internet access, but there is a tip jar where most regulars will drop a buck or two after a session on the net.
A digression: Why would a coffee shop even think about charging their customers for wireless connection? Am I alone in thinking that an establishment that wants to charge me $25 a month or $5 an hour for the net doesn't really want me as a customer? Anyway, I have a strong suspicion that coffee house regulars are more more likely to shell out to an Internet tip jar than a corporate grab for their pocketbook. Some places haven't learned that its better to appeal to people's good sides instead of treating them like chumps at a side show.
In general Reds is a great spot to write. The only problem I've ocassionally run into is that some maniac employee puts on music better suited to a bar on Saturday night -- only louder. Happens in the best of families I'm told.
One last thing I find endearing... I love dogs, and Reds is one of the few places where a dog can sit nearby while you work. My dog loves Reds. Now if they only had Milk Bones with the bran muffins and bagels...
Reds is located at 211 Helena Ave, Santa Barbara, just across State Street from the train station.