The little private drive-up coffee huts in the Seattle area have always amazed me. Having previously lived in NJ, NC, SC and GA, I have never observed this concept anywhere else. Probably because they don't have as many coffee fiends in such a concentrated area as we do. But I have to say I have been converted to a coffee stand addict.
Market Street Perk is the bright orange coffee stand that resides on Market St. and 16th Ave W in front of the Zip Market. And Rich Connelly is the owner, and local resident, that you can find there almost every day of the week to greet you with a smile and hot cup of joe. When I'm pulling up to the window I can already hear him bellowing, "Heyyyyyyyy, darlin'! What can I get for you this mornin'?" Somehow the foggy cloud starts to lift from around my head as I smell the fresh roasted coffee beans. I don't know how he's so happy and energetic in the morning but it's kind of contagious, so I proceed with ordering my vanilla latte. And I love that he knows my kids will stop whining if he hands them a hot pink straw to play with ( in lieu of a lollipop).
These coffee houses aren't just about the coffee, they are about the people. There's no traffic flagger directing me through the long line so I can talk to the speakerphone with my order. This is just a neighborhood place. Rich has been in business for nine years, serves up about 150 cups of coffee a day, and does all of his own Brazilian bean roasting daily. He bought it from his sister (it used to be on 7th/Market) and -go figure- has never had a cup of coffee in his life (!). That's quite an achievement living out here and owning a coffee stand. But maybe that's a good thing. Like a big lady owning a bakery or pill-popper owning a pharmacy, if he drank coffee in that little hut all day his teeth would be brown and he'd be bouncing off the walls like a pinball machine.
I asked Rich if he gets claustrophobic in there. "No, just bored," he says. So, what do you do? "I clean or I've got cable and my computer in here, or I flirt," says the single Connelly with a chuckle. He also said lots of drivers hit his stand with the back of their cars when pulling away and don't even realize it- "it's like an earthquake in here," he says. But just one of the dangers of the job I guess.
Rich's stand is open from 6:30am-5pm Mon-Fri and 8-4 on weekends. Be sure to stop by and visit him from 3-5 M-F for happy hour when drinks are only $1.50.
~Janis
That's right, folks, he's right here in our own Heathman Hotel. Some friends spotted him in the gym and then at the bar at Trellis last night. Is he filming a movie in town? I don't know, but I've got to work on the assumption that he has finally come to find me. I promptly called Steve at work to let him know that a star on my Friends "Top 5" list was in town and that we were invoking the free hall pass scenario asap. 
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