Saratoga News Photograph by George Sakkestad Tami Olvera finds owning a coffeehouse is like opening up her living room to friends. Sandwiches at lunchtime give coffeehouse a boost By Suzanne Cristallo Tami Olvera was chatting recently with some women at the beauty parlor when the subject of where to go for good coffee in Los Gatos came up. She was charmed to hear them speak enthusiastically about BLVD Coffee--charmed because the intimate coffeehouse belongs to her. Olvera, 26, has owned the shop near the Wherehouse on Los Gatos Boulevard for the past year and a half. Taking the major step to ownership was a tremulous one. Her total business experience consisted of nine years with State Farm Insurance, where she worked right after graduation from San Jose's Leland High School. She topped that off with a short stint at a Starbucks Coffee. Then life changed when an ad for what was once called the Gourmet Giraffe caught her fancy. Two weeks of thinking, a phone call and two months of legalities later, she was committed. "I owned the place along with lots of jitters," she laughs. The jitters have smoothed out, mainly because Olvera has found the society of her customers to be soothing. Where she feared a stuffy clientele, there are warm and caring people. "I've made lots of friends here," she says. "I like to sit and talk with them." Big couches, a coffee table for playing games, and cozy reading areas are good for those chats and for young couples who are absorbed in each other. The ambiance is also good for business people who come in, plug in their laptops and spend a comfortable hour. "Ninety percent of the people who walk in, I know by name and what they regularly order. It's real family," she says. The house specialty is iced mocha--a combination of the house coffee and chocolate syrup made frosty in the refrigerator where the mixture is allowed to steep. "Something about it sitting together makes it better," she says, noting that even on wintry days, customers still want the iced version over the hot drink. Now Olvera is offering sandwiches to go with some 30 syrup flavors for espresso drinks, a wide variety of fresh coffee, fresh juice drinks and even soy milk. Veggies, tuna, chicken, turkey and ham and cheese are served on a choice of croissant, bagel or bread. All come fresh from Mama's Bakery--across town on N. Santa Cruz Avenue--along with the bakery's special jammies, shortbreads, cookies, muffins, scones and Danishes. "It used to be real quiet here around lunchtime," Olvera recalls. "Then we put in the lunch items, and we're barely keeping up with the increased business." She works six days a week, joined during the busy lunch hours by her husband, Humberto, and her brother-in-law. In May, when her first baby is due, Olvera intends to limit her tasks to bookkeeping and buying. Meanwhile, there is some irony for the three-cup-a-day coffee drinker who started her coffee-loving career at the age of 6. "Somehow, since I've been expecting, I can't take the smell of it. I have to depend on my brother-in-law to come in and make it for me," she says. She's being assured by customers, who are encouraging her to bring the baby to work, that they will be there to help. BLVD Coffee, 15466 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos. Open Mon.-Fri. 6:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. Sat. 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun, 8:30 a.m.- noon. 356-4665. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.