Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Terri Vellios serves up a cafe latte at BLVD. Coffee, which she's owned since last May.

BLVD. Coffee serves up commuter cards

By Anne Gelhaus

Before she opened BLVD. Coffee last May, Terri Vellios managed the business end of the Stuft Pizza restaurant located right across the street from the building where she now brews java.

"I did everything but make pizza," Vellios says of her former job. "I've always wanted to do coffee, and the opportunity fell into my lap before I had time to think about it."

Once Vellios decided to buy the coffee bar, it took her less than 24 hours to get the lease transferred to her name and only 17 days to open.

"That meant buying new equipment and everything," she recalls.

A coffee achiever in her own right, Vellios sampled many brews before she settled on Vigál as the bean of choice for her establishment.

"Their customer service is great," she says of her supplier. "They roast to order, so I don't have to stockpile my beans. I turn them over within a week."

During the week, Vellios says, most of her customers are business people. To help them keep to their busy schedules, Vellios issues "commuter cards" to customers who want to put their money down in advance and then just have their cards punched whenever they make a purchase. She also sets up a self-service bar in the morning so the drop-ins can make coffee drinks to their own specifications.

Things are more relaxed on Friday nights, Vellios says, when BLVD. Coffee takes on the ambience of a true espresso bar.

"People who used to do the bar scene come here to get the socialization without the alcohol," she adds. "It's like [the TV show] Cheers without the beer."

Vellios enjoys the social aspects of running her own business.

"At Stuft," she says, "I was always in the back office and never saw customer interactions. Here, I've seen people who haven't seen each other in 15 years run into each other."

BLVD. Coffee, 15466 Los Gatos Blvd., Suite 112, Los Gatos. 356-4665. Hours: Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-7 p.m.;
Sat., 8 a.m.-7 p.m.