Waking up, with a smile, in Santa Fe

The world would be a better place if it had more people like Bill-The-Espresso-Man.

That would be Bill Deutsch, a guy who charms, regales, entertains, consoles, educates and inspires…..all for the price of a cup of joe.

 Bill is proprietor of Holy Spirit Espresso, a Santa Fe, New Mexico institution that I stumbled upon last week while attending the annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists (AFJ). Bill’s coffee depot is the proverbial hole in the wall...I estimated about 6 ft by 7 or 8 ft. There’s only enough room for one or two customers on one side of the counter and Bill, in all his “yo, the seventies want their funk back” glory on the other. 

Hanging from ceiling and walls are bank notes from all over the world. While I waited for my latte one morning, a bellhop from the nearby Eldorado Hotel bounced in to greet Bill and give him an exotic-looking bill that I didn’t recognize.

The entire façade of the counter is plastered with postcards sent to Bill from around the world  from people who were clearly as smitten by him as I was.

This guy is a one-man show that’ll wake you up better than a grande coffee with an added shot. He’s a raconteur who’s never met a pun he didn’t like.

Oh, yeah. The coffee’s terrific, too. Bill gets his beans from Caffé d’Arte, one of Seattle’s best know and loved coffee companies.  www.caffedarte.com/

Comments

[Ellen Barone]

Yep, a true Santa Fe gem! Now when I tell people about it, all I have to do is send them to your blog. Thanks, Maureen.