Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Co-owners Tracey and Mitch Cutler display some of the light fare on the menu at Blue Rock Shoot, which recently opened in Saratoga.

Blue Rock Shoot is a one-stop shop

By Christina Waters

The intriguingly named Blue Rock Shoot opened last week on the restaurant Gold Coast of Saratoga. It's the latest brainchild of entrepreneurs Tracey and Mitch Cutler, the duo who also gave us the gorgeously decorated theme restaurant La Fondue. About a year ago, the Cutlers fell for the historic, vintage 1895 building directly across the street from La Fondue and started the madness known as remodeling. Their historic building is a two-story affair, so the Cutlers turned the ground floor into a bookstore-- run by Rachel Cart and Ian Oeschger. A cafe fills the upstairs, and a multitude of terraces offer seating for patrons reading books, munching light lunches and sipping coffee. Did I mention that the Cutlers do their own coffee roasting? And bagel making? Well, they do.

"We'll be baking bagels and doing lots of different bagel sandwiches," Tracey says. "And we plan to offer pizzas, salad, plus draft beer and some wine--mostly local wine--in addition to doing our own coffee roasting."

Not only does Blue Rock Shoot provide one-stop shopping for those who crave a cafe and coffeehouse with their bookstore, but it also sells "a selection of cigars from our cigar humidor."

As for the name of the business, Tracey, who appointed the new store with stained glass windows and an arts and crafts decorating scheme, says that up at nearby Congress Springs, along about the turn of the century, there was a locally famous skeet-shooting contest. "Blue rocks" are the highest quality skeet available; hence Blue Rock Shoot.

As Blue Rock Shoot settles into the neighborhood, we can expect poetry readings, wine tastings, lectures and a whole lot of just plain hanging out on the part of its patrons. The owners envision such diversity that you can see why they couldn't limit themselves with an obvious name like "cafe" or "coffeehouse."

Blue Rock Shoot, 14523 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Hours: Sun.-Thu., 6 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 6 a.m.-11 p.m. 867-3437.