In the shadow of the state’s looming, green-domed Capitol, the Caffeine Connection evokes the coffee houses of 18th century London, where Whigs and Tories, authors and merchants, the famous and not so famous, mingled over coffee and scones.
The modern day equivalent in this little coffee house at the corner of State and Third streets, across the street from the steps to the Capitol, are state legislators and Cabinet officers, lawyers and lobbyists, grass root activists and journalists.
And it’s oatmeal they mingle over, though scones are available, too.
“Senators were in here this morning,” said owner Pat Erb, a petite, pleasant woman who likes to dote on her customers. “I don’t know what they were up to.”
Even if she did, she wouldn’t tell.
Most of her customers are city and state movers and shakers who sip their lattes and enjoy Pat’s homemade baked oatmeal (for which she is famous for, from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.) as they share gossip, gather intelligence and cut deals.
Pat enjoys serving them all, and though she’s not privy to their conversations, it’s easy to guess by body language and intense conversation that some strategy is being made or some policy being developed.
“Pretty much all my clientele are from across the street,” she said. “And the lobbyists – I can’t forget the lobbyists. They’re pretty generous to me.”
“What makes Caffeine Connection so unique is Pat herself,” said Kurt Knaus, who, as managing director at Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy, often meets clients there.
“It’s really great in a cookie-cutter kind of world to find someone who stands out so much and who clearly puts in the time and effort to ensure her customers get a memorable experience with every cup of coffee and homemade snack,” he said.
For Pat, the coffee house she opened seven years ago is a realized dream, having grown up in Chicago among family who owned restaurants, bars and pastry shops, where she learned how to bake the muffins, cookies and other sweet confections she serves.
“I always had a passion for coffee,” she said. “I love my customers.”
She presides in a shop decorated in her eclectic tastes. Photographs and art works from local artists hang on the walls. A painter for 16 years, she occasionally has some of her paintings on the wall in what is a warm, comfortable place to be on a cold day.
“I’m blessed,” she said of her clientele. “I’m very blessed.”
