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| - Fun factoid for the Yelp world. Lola Coffee occupies a space that was once owned by my great grandfather. Originally constructed in 1925, The Gold Spot Marketing Center historical building once housed a business owned by my great grandfather called O.T.'s Liquor Store. He opened it shortly after prohibition was repealed, looking to cash in on a reborn industry. Downtown was a much different place back then and his business went through good times and bad. Today there's no sign of the old liquor store, but the bones of The Gold Spot building remain in tact. And with Downtown back in full swing, the old building houses not only Lola Coffee, but also Pita Jungle, Salon RO5, and The Painters Lounge among other tenants.
As others have accurately pointed out, this historic space is gorgeous. Quintessentially Roosevelt Row, molding the bones of an old building with art on the walls, casual furniture, and a modern coffeehouse atmosphere. Lola can seat around 30 people inside and another 20 or so in the shaded patio out back so there's plenty of room even on busy mornings like this one. I've been to Lola a few times in the past, but I'm not a coffee drinker and their food offerings had always been limited to whatever baked goods were in the case. Or so I thought. I saw they had updated their website recently with an option to make your own custom sandwiches or burritos. WHAAAAAT?!?!?! Come Saturday morning, I was here at the opening bell.
My last trip to Lola had been almost two years ago so admittedly I've been out of the loop on a few things. Like how CRAZY busy this place gets in the morning. Arriving at 7am, there was already a line of over a dozen folks in front of me, most waiting to get their morning cup o'Joe. Understandably, the action behind the counter is a beehive of activity as the baristas work double time to keep the line moving (which they do a good job of). It stayed busy for the first full hour they were open as the line never got shorter than 10 people. The bakery case was full just as I remembered, but behind the register now hangs a food menu that I hadn't remembered seeing in years past. That's what I came here to discover.
Along with ordering a small orange juice, I asked to order a breakfast sandwich. Immediately, the gal at the register handed me a list to fill out so as to customize my meal. My decisions were as follows: Sandwich, regular eggs (instead of egg whites) with a medium scramble, ciabatta bread, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, sausage and bacon meats, tomato and spinach veggies. Total cost for the small OJ, sandwich, and tax came to $12. The sandwich took almost 10 minutes so it was a bit of a wait. But once the kitchen called my name to pickup, I raced over. What a payoff. All the ingredients were perfectly cooked and piled high. They didn't skimp on the meats or the cheeses on this by any measure. The ciabatta was perfectly toasted and the veggies were melded beautifully into the egg. Great portion, fantastic flavors, delicious breakfast to start off my Saturday.
As with any coffeehouse review I can't speak to the coffee as it appears I'm one of the last 30 somethings on Earth that doesn't drink coffee. That said, the coffee menu here is along the lines of what you'll find at most coffee houses (espressos, cappuccinos, iced coffee, teas, etc). But the customizable sandwich and burrito menu is truly a treat here. Lots of ways to make yourself the perfect breakfast or brunch meal, and of course those tasty house-made baked goods in the bakery case up front. Now that I know Lola offers a full assortment of delicious breakfast items to go with everything else that makes this spot so popular, save me some space on their bandwagon. My great grandfather would be quite pleased to see his old store reborn into the success story Lola has become.
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