Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Cherie Norton, one of four co-owners of the International Coffee Exchange, enjoys a hot drink fresh from the espresso machine.

Coffeehouse in Saratoga becomes a family affair

By Suzanne Cristallo

Over the past 10 years, Cherie Norton, 29, has learned a juggling act. As a waitress in a variety of popular chain restaurants on the Peninsula--where she grew up--she learned how to steam milk while simultaneously pulling a shot of espresso and ringing up a customer.

She became deft at busing a table with one hand and straightening a picture on the wall with the other. All of these tricks for saving time and motion have groomed her for the juggling she performs now: that of wife, mother of a 2-year-old and partner in the International Coffee Exchange in Saratoga.

Norton, along with husband Paul, 35, his brother, Dan, 38--both Los Altos natives--and Dan's wife, Patty, 33, are the new foursome who purchased the cafe on Big Basin Way last month, carrying on a coffee-roasting tradition started by the former owners 12 years ago.

The cafe is one of three stores now owned by the partners. Espresso Lane, an innovative drive-in coffeehouse in Redwood City, was their first venture in 1994, followed last June by Bay City Cafe in Mountain View.

It's definitely a Norton clan operation, including Dan and Paul's father, Jim, who does the accounting. All the partners but Paul, a Los Altos real estate agent, work in the Saratoga cafe. Cherie manages the staff of nine and orders gift items; Patty handles the books and food purchasing; and Dan does coffee roasting. He and Paul will be remodeling the store after Christmas, utilizing their earlier experience together as contractors.

"We always wanted to work as a family," Cherie says. "This is a good place to put all of our talents to work." The only drawback, she notes, is that family gatherings are dominated by shop talk. "So we've made a rule against that--no talking business!"

But talking with customers is the big plus. Cherie recalls that her experience with their drive-in coffeehouse allowed her only one minute with customers who whizzed by the takeout window at the start of their commute run.

At the International Coffee Exchange, she can mingle with customers who come to sit outdoors in the morning sun while leisurely enjoying a fresh-baked muffin with a Borgia freeze--a blend of orange, chocolate, espresso and ice.

On the chillier days of autumn, coffee purists might order a French press, in which the coffee is strained through a mesh filter, which avoids adulterating the drink's flavor with the filter paper.

Coffees from Brazil, Sumatra, Java and Africa accompany ice cream from Marianne's in Santa Cruz and fresh pastries from Monterey. The Nortons also serve a special Saratoga coffee blend consisting of beans from Costa Rica and Colombia. Several neighboring restaurants buy it for customers.

A variety of smoothies, falafels and sandwiches make up the luncheon menu. The Zen--a favorite of Cherie's--is served on a bagel with sprouts, lettuce, tomato, avocado and cheese.

Photography and watercolors by local artists are displayed throughout the cafe, with a special artist featured each month.

International Coffee Exchange, 14471 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Open Mon., 6:30 a.m.- 8 p.m., Tue-Thu. and Sun., 6:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m. 741-1185.

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