Aldo Coffee Company

TFC: Thursday, June 30

Wow.  End of June, already.  Today we are brewing a rich Columbian Tres Santos and a Dark Organic French Roast.

When Good Ideas Go Bad

Seems a few people were upset at the Open Amp Night a week ago last Friday.  We're still learning about details, but it sort of goes like this...

-We labeled the evening "Open Amp Night, Hosted by Mark Shuttleworth".  We agreed that Mark would be in charge of the event, including confirming all acts before the evening's performance.

-Posters were on display in the store with instructions to call Mark if you were interested in performing.

-Somebody came into the store and asked about playing, apparently figuring that "Open Amp" implied "just show up", not unlike what the Coffee Den was doing.  One of our staff incorrectly assumed that was the case and told this person, a guitarist, to "just show up."

-Friday night rolls around and Mark has several acts ready to go, figuring he's done his job and is all set.  He's got everyone on a tight schedule.

-The person who was told to "just show up" just showed up.  And Mark had no place to put him on the bill without reworking everything.  To complicate matters, the unconfirmed guitarist had brought his family to watch.

-Somewhere along the Mark allegedly expressed frustration and said something that was taken by the guitarist as an insult.

-The result was bad feelings about Aldo Coffee Co.

What's disappointing to us is that we didn't learn about this until after the fact.  The evening was supposed to be enjoyable for everyone involved and for several people it wasn't.

We take full responsibility.  We should have made it clearer to our staff that those interested in perfoming had to call Mark first.  We will also rename future "Open Amp" nights to something else that doesn't imply "just show up". 

And we should have been monitoring the situation instead of leaving it up to Mark, who was put in an awkward situation because we had hired him specifically to do quality control on the acts prior to allowing them to perform. 

A better solution could have been achieved.

Unfortunately we don't have the guitarist's name or contact info.  So we don't know who to apologize to.  If you know the person, please let us know how to contact him.

Pittsburgh Dish

Came across a relatively new Pittsburgh blog last night: Pittsburgh Dish. 

It's urbane, funny, edgy and provides a look at what's really going on around here.  Sort of everything you like about CityPaper without the whining and windmill-tilting.

And they were even kind enough to feature us today.  So we're returning the favor.  Thanks, Joe & Colleen.

Now With Flickr Slideshow

We added a new toy... a slideshow on Flickr.  We'll be changing photos from time to time, but for now you'll find the link in the upper right.

Flickr is an amazing tool, allowing you to share photos not just with friends and family, but with the whole world.  If you haven't already, check it out.

Eventually we'd like to put a photo album or some thumbnails up here too, but we'll wait for now... it's getting pretty crowded on this front page and a site redesign isn't in the works for awhile yet.

Defending Your Right to Great Espresso

We were amused that of all the vehicles that could have parked in front of the shop for today's Mt. Lebanon Car Show, we got a massive military truck with a 50mm machine gun mounted on top.

A little intimidating ya think?

Anyway, lots of people out viewing the antique cars, despite 90-degree heat.

Here are a few other photos...

Traffic gets back to normal at 6pm.  Hope to see you later this evening for dessert.

Car Show Tomorrow. Washington Road Closed to Traffic.

Remember, Washington Road will be closed from 8am-6pm tomorrow (Saturday) for the Car Show.  The show itself will run from 10am-4pm.

There will be access to both parking garages from side roads, but no traffic will be allowed on Washington Road itself.

We'll be open as usual, 7:30-11:00pm.  Not sure if we'll be able to have seating outside, but we'll be here with the air conditioners running. 

Bring the family.  We've got fresh lemonade and brewed iced tea in addition to espresso, panini, cannoli and pastries.

Mark Shuttleworth Tonight

Not sure if jazz guitarist/vocalist Mark Shuttleworth is playing solo or bring his new duet partner, but he'll be here tonight playing jazz and standards from 8-10:30.

No cover.

It's expected to be a beautiful warm summer evening.  Perfect time and place to enjoy a cold coffee frappe!

Heroes & Legends

We've added a set of links at the bottom right for our customers who travel. 

It's a list of the most respected independent espresso shops and small chains in major metro areas throughout the country.  These shops represent the best owners, roasters and baristas in the business, based on opinions of other owners, roasters, baristas and espresso enthusiasts.

It's a short list at the moment, but one we hope to build on as the demand for remarkable coffee experiences expands beyond the Northwest, Northeast and Chicago.

Hopefully you'll have a chance to meet the award-winning roasters, owners and baristas from these shops during your travels.  At the very least, because of the ingrained quality at these shops, you know you'll have an excellent espresso,  cappuccino or macchiato regardless who's doing the pouring.

And if you do visit, please let us know what you enjoyed about your experiences.  We can't get to all of these shops ourselves, so your observations will help us get better. 

Our goal is to offer espresso, service and amenities at least as good as the best in the business.  It's a very high bar and one we may never reach, but we'll never stop trying.

Today Washington Road.  Tomorrow...

TFC: Thursday, June 23

Today we are brewing up our recent staff favorite New Guinea (did I mention that I am noticing that we brew the favorite of whoever gets to the store first in the morning?) and our Organic Dark Italian Roast.

Panini and the Park

The new Cleariew Commons public green is now open here on Washington Rd.  in Mt. Lebanon.  It is so nice to have this urban green space.  Every Wednesday this summer, there is live music in the Commons at noon. 
Aldo Coffee Co. offers 10% of your panini box lunch on concert Wednesdays if you call it in before 11 am (412) 563-1220 --   or, you can just walk in and get one after that, of course, just without the discount.  Click here for our panini menu.   No substitutions, please: we make these with a bounty of fresh ingredients daily; and it needs to resemble an assembly line because of their popularity (and because the Panini Guy is a perfectionist.)