Café Collage - The Locals Hang

Café Collage has been taking care of Venice locals since 1993, and locals remain their focus. Amid all the change going down in the area recently, it's a consolation to walk into the doors of a place that has remained chill and unpretentious no matter what is happening around town. If you've been missing Abbot's Habit (and who hasn't been?), Collage offers the same relaxed neighborhood atmosphere, with the same affordability ... but with, ahem, better food and coffee. Just saying.

I have a long list of people and places that I want to write about in telling the stories of Venice, and Café Collage has been on it for years. It got moved up higher when I recently read Patti Smith's M Train, and she talks about sitting in our own Café Collage years ago, when a surfer ran in yelling, "Art is dead!" and ran out. I can't have Smith writing about a place in Venice that I haven't yet written about, so I bugged manager, Paul Evidente, until we finally sat down to chat about the wonderful spot there in the shadow of the Venice sign.

Collage will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2018, and locals have loved it the whole time, making it a welcome part of their daily routines. There have been four different owners in its lifetime, and current owner, Jennifer Park, has guided it to be the best it's ever been. The café got its name from the murals that used to be painted all over the ceiling, and has always been a place for local artists to showcase their work. Raymundo has been back there making your sandwiches since 1997, and always has a smile and a hello, no matter how busy working he is. There is a warmth extended to everyone from everyone, and it is both noted and appreciated every time I walk in.

Between serving the customers/friends coming in all morning, Evidente told me that he locals are the foundation, and that there is "no such thing as Venice Beach without the locals." Exactly. Whatever is left over at the end of every day is brought down to the beach and given to the homeless. There is never any trouble inside of Café Collage for exactly that reason, there is a mutual respect between everyone.

Having said that, it can also be crazy, and employees of Collage have pretty much seen it all. There might be a topless girl having her picture taken under the Venice sign. A homeless dude might be chopping wood outside to make a warming fire. There might be a "Running of the bulls" meeting up (a bunch of rollergirls being chased by one dressed like a bull). There might be a fight outside, but never inside. And if there is a fight, locals like Tonan will take care of it (as has happened). "If you take care of your locals, the locals will take care of your business," Evidente said, and that is fact.

Rachel Walker is a bright spot in my day when I walk into Collage and am so pleasantly greeted every time. She told me that she's tried everything on the menu, there's something for everyone, and every single thing is good. She's right. They update the menu all the time to stay current with the competition, but there really is no competition in the area when you can still get a drip coffee and something to eat for like $3.00. At a time when pricing of just about everything in Venice has become outrageous, it's awfully nice to be treated well and not break your bank over breakfast. They know their customers, and keep everything affordable, as a priority. "I just want to make sure every customer walks out happy and content," says Escalante, and you can truly feel the sincerity behind that statement when he says it.

He continued, "Venice is a small community, and we know all the faces. There's still a 60's, 70's, 80's feeling, and it's all about the people. I'm from Hawai'i, and I'll never go back. The fun, the drinks, the ladies ... that's why people want to come and be a part of it, every tourist's first stop is Venice ... everyone wants a piece of Venice." But for those who live here all the time, Café Collage is still for you most of all.

"We're here for everybody, from the homeless to the rich. We want to make you feel at home, give you quality, and leave happy so that you'll come back to us." Park nodded as Evidente told me this, and I can see them walking this talk every day. Please support this wonderful locals spot, as they have supported the community from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm (later on special events like the sign lightings!) every day for nearly 25 years.

Thanks and Happy (early) Anniversary to all the great people at Café Collage! Oh, and try the Palermo drink - espresso with orange peel, chocolate, and nutmeg. The holidays in a cup!

Café Collage
1518 Pacific Avenue
Venice
#310-399-0632

Tesuque Village Market Now Open In Venice!

When Kim's Market on Ocean Avenue closed a while back, it left a real void in that neighborhood, and for people like me who liked to stop in on my way to the beach. A new, colorful facade went up a while back, but the business had remained a mystery. Until today. Returning from my beach walk this morning, I saw that the front doors of the Tesuque (pronounced Teh-Soo-Kay) Village Market were finally open, so I went on in.

As luck would have it, today is the opening day! I met the owner Michael Stein, a mellow, cool-seeming guy who now divides his time between New Mexico and Venice. Tesuque is the name of the town and Native American reservation near Sante Fe, where the original Tesuque Village Market has been operating since 1989, "Where down home is upscale". When Stein wanted to expand his funky trading post to a new region, he chose Venice specifically for the "Funk factor". I like them already. (*The website link is for their New Mexico location. They don't have a restaurant in Venice. Or a website for it yet).

In a time when so much is changing and the corporate monster has been gobbling up so much of our Venice funk factor, I can really get behind a business that wants to not only honor that part of our community's fabric, but add to it as well.

Tesuque (I'm already shortening it to "Tesuqs") is a wonderful addition to this little corner of Venice, serving up full coffee service (using Verve espresso products) and breakfast burritos from 7 am, in addition to all the great products they have on offer to take home.

Cupcakes and pastries from Hotcakes Bakes, and a delicious looking sandwich case will fulfill your prepared food needs, while the shelves are stocked with all sorts of good stuff, well edited with something for everyone. If you don't see what you want, ask. They're very receptive to ordering things that their locals want, and very much want to strive to give the community exactly what is wanted. Give your feedback! Tesuque also got to keep the Kim's liquor license, so they've got everything from your Tecates to some pretty nice higher shelf tequila. There are the usual convenience store sundries as well, like toothpaste and dish soap, but since they're not that fun to look at on the shelves, they're kept in blue lockers out back. Nice.

As Tesuque hails from New Mexico, they have a nice variety of things from that region, including their own line of products, including this delicious sounding blue corn pancake mix.

The New Mexico location offers a full restaurant menu and bar, which all sounds delicious, but with all the Venice red tape, we don't get to have that here. Yet. I hope that can be sorted out one day soon though, because they have that nice back patio that would be a delight to sit out there and enjoy some New Mexican cuisine on. Nowhere around here serves that type of food, so that would another unique quality for Venice. I get that it's in a neighborhood, but they are very respectful of that ... so maybe someday we'll get those blue corn pancakes and killer margaritas in house.

"We wanted this to be a throwback market, to make it have a Bohemian feel like Venice probably was like 20 or 30 years ago," Stein told me. To that end, they've hired a crew of beachy, surfer types that make you feel right at home the minute you walk in, Brah.

There are colorful tables and art, making you feel like taking a load off to shoot the breeze with your neighbors. We all know it takes a village ... and Tesuque Village Market from the Land of Enchantment is now here to help. Welcome to Venice!

Tesuque Village Market

600 Mildred Avenue

Venice

310-751-6902