Two women toddled into the empty Caf on the Common from its side entrance Friday to survey Main Street's newest arrival: a coffee shop by day, a jazz caf on weekend evenings. Searching for something familiar, their heads revolved like satellite dishes in the middle of a thunderstorm. The women undoubtedly smelled the strong coffee and spotted the piano, the espresso machine, the croissants and a fruit tart anchored by a salacious boysenberry in the pastry case.

Sally Legore '04, who graduated last May and works here now, waited to take their order. But it seemed they were only stopping by for a look-see.

"This place is very nice," one of the women said, while inflating a cosmic-sized bubble of pink chewing gum. Thirty seconds later, they had repaired outside with a promise to return soon-consolation for Legore.

This scene is emblematic of what will be the only problem for the European-inspired coffee shop. Working-class Waltham might have trouble supporting what has become a favorite-albeit stilted-pastime of America's professionals and more-idle classes like students and artists: sitting around and drinking coffee.



Monmartre on Main

On Saturday night one week ago, the mood was unlike Friday's awkward orientation. The humble but well-tuned piano sounded jazz standards at a polite volume and the caf's array of marble tables were circled by well-dressed trios, couples and singletons.

That the caf, which opened on Oct. 28, should feature jazz on the weekends was an unexpected boon to owner Fred Kimberk, 54, of nearby Lincoln. If not for DeNeille Thompson, also 54, a jazz singer who spent the past 27 years performing in France, Caf on the Common would have been just another coffee shop. Thompson, the caf manager, met Kimberk while he was building the place.

Kimberk puts his training as an architect to use by restoring old buildings to their original appearance around Waltham and in Cambridge and Boston. That he's in the business of recapturing history is fitting-in a cardigan and thick-rimmed glasses, the man is a walking anachronism. When the copy center that used to exist at the intersection of Moody and Main Streets moved out, Kimberk, who owns the entire building, decided to restore much of the space to its late 19th century look.

He knocked down the faux-wood paneling, extended the ceilings, replaced the carpeted floor with granite and installed wood moldings and period light fixtures. During this construction last May, Thompson was walking down Main Street and observed a sign in the window advertising his current position. Kimberk hired Thompson and the two have been friends since.

Thompson, a buoyant personality with gold earrings in both ears and glossy black leather shoes, said he works about 28 hours a week at the caf and spends the rest of the time performing.

In spite of the French proclivity for coffee consumption, Thompson admits that since working here, he's drinking more joe than ever before.

The Coffee Conundrum

Before Kimberk decided to open up his caf, he saw a place for quality coffee in Waltham's town center. So, he courted Starbucks and Pete's Coffee, both of which declined, saying that the Watch City could not support a location for high-priced coffee.

"They both claimed the demographics aren't right for Waltham. A nice way of saying that [Waltham] is a working-class town," he said.

The majority of Walthamites, the coffee conglomerates reasoned, got their morning caffeine fix at Dunkin' Donuts or with breakfast, at local restaurants like Arcadia and Tom's Diner, both on Main Street.

At the time, Kimberk said he was unaware that Waltham had an ordinance on the books that forbids fast-food chains from opening up around the Waltham Commons or on Moody Street. So, without special dispensation from the city, Starbucks or Pete's would have been barred from opening in the space even if they wanted to, Kimberk said.

Kimberk said simply that what distinguishes his caf from a Starbucks-like restaurant is quality.

"I think we have better coffee than Starbucks," he said. Still, Kimberk acknowledges that Waltham's supposed shortage of classy customers might send the fledgling business into the red.

"It remains to be seen," he said. "I believe the demographics of Waltham have changed. I think a lot of people have moved to Waltham in the last 10 years. Waltham has 60,000 residents. But it also has 60,000 people who come here to work," he said.

Professionals seem to make up most of the daytime business here, but, for lunch, they'll have to go elsewhere. While Kimberk said he wants one day to have sandwiches, he says, "That's an art of its own."

A Friend bearing good beans

Kimberk stocks Terroir Coffee in the shop, a brand whose founder, George Howell, is regarded as one of the country's foremost coffee connoisseurs.

In the '70s, Howell was best known for his Coffee Connection caf in Harvard Square, which eventually sprouted into a chain of cafs in Boston and Cambridge.

"He was a contemporary of Starbucks and Pete's-he was the East Coast equivalent," said Kimberk, who is friends with Howell.

Howell eventually sold his business to Starbucks, signing a non-competition agreement that ended last year, Kimberk said. Now, he's wholesaling his famous beans from Acton, and scouring the globe for more varieties.

"The distinct thing about his coffee is he wants to treat coffee like fine wine," Kimberk said, referring to the name "Terroir," a wine term which in French means, "of the earth."

"They're pretty fanatical about it," he said of Howell's company. "This is reflective in the prices we pay, but not in the prices the customer pays."

A large cup of Howell's joe at Caf on the Common costs $1.85, and a caf au lait is $2.05 for the same size.

Kimberk said the wine to coffee analogy is a fair comparison, citing the 600 unique flavors in coffee that have been identified.



Editor's Note: Caf on the Common is located at 677 Main Street. The caf is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and until 11 p.m on the weekends. Kimberk said, if customers are present, the caf will likely stay open. Jazz begins at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Wireless Internet access will be available soon.