Anyway, I talked to the clerk at It's A Grind after the write-in was over on Friday, and this is what he told me:
We weren't a problem and we weren't overly noisy. They like having groups of people in (they have club meetings and such all the time) but he'd really like us not to take over the entire coffee shop. Which means, that we're limited to about 15-18 people to keep that from happening. (We were right on that edge Friday night, and I counted about 17 people or so over the course of the evening -- yeah, a couple of those weren't writing, but they were with our group.)
So, here's the thing. In regards to Folsom, we have about equal traffic coming from downtown/Rancho Cordova and off the hill from El Dorado Hills, and given that the Folsom write-in is scheduled on a Friday, which means the commute will get ugly as ski season picks up, I'd really rather not move it up the hill into EDH. (As much as I love our EDH wrimos, you can see my concern here.)
Of course the same problem applies with going northward into Orangevale. Besides the river crossing, it becomes more and more difficult for our Wrimos coming off the hill to attend.
So let me give you some idea of what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a place that can take 20-25 people (for growth reasons), doesn't cost anything to use, and doesn't require that you buy something (We encourage it, but we don't want to make it so that our Wrimos can't afford to attend -- money's tight for everybody). Wifi is a tiebreaker -- we can live without it, but it's a nice thing to have.
So, I'm throwing this out here for everybody to chew on. Give me some thoughts (and ideas on where to move it to, if we end up moving).
-kat
----------
Kat Templeton, Sacramento Region co-ML * http://www.retstak.org
"If I have weaknessess, don't let them blind me now." --Paul Simon
32,345 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 16 56
On my way home from work on Monday, I'll swing by Main Street Bagel.
They are across from Walmart on Riley, next to Kinko's FedEx.
From the street they look like they have a lot of room and probably not as busy as It's a Grind.
Their website has not hours of operation so I don't even know if they are open on Friday nights or anything else.
I'll let you know.
Yeah, I felt bad when a few customer's walked in, looked around and realized there was only outside seating and then left.
Keeping my eyes peeled,
Erik
22,395 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 20 15
I don't know if you've checked it out, or if anyone else has for that matter, but Ciro's Pizza Cafe seems to be a good bet! They have free wifi, it seems large enough to fit our party and it's in Folsom! Located on the corner of Blue Ravine and Prairie City, it's open until 10PM on Friday nights. If they're okay with it, I think this might be the best place for us. :D
EDIT: There's some good pictures here that give you an idea of how big the inside seating area is. There's a good size outdoor seating area too. :P
----------http://cityvoter.com/ciro-s-pizza-cafe-241-blue-ravine-road-folsom-folso...
I like to beat Writer's Block in the head with a fire extinguisher!
“...didn’t anyone ever teach you how to tell a proper lie? I know you’re probably hoping I’ll just give up and kill you, but you’ll find that I’m a very stubborn sort of man.” -Jorbayn
22,395 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 20 13
They are across from Walmart on Riley, next to Kinko's FedEx.
From the street they look like they have a lot of room and probably not as busy as It's a Grind.
Their website has not hours of operation so I don't even know if they are open on Friday nights or anything else.
After much searching, I found that they close around 3 or 4ish.
----------I like to beat Writer's Block in the head with a fire extinguisher!
“...didn’t anyone ever teach you how to tell a proper lie? I know you’re probably hoping I’ll just give up and kill you, but you’ll find that I’m a very stubborn sort of man.” -Jorbayn
50,182 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 20 27
Hmmm, if there's somebody that could stop in there this week and see if it works for us, we might be able to give it a try.
-kat
----------Kat Templeton, Sacramento Region co-ML * http://www.retstak.org
"If I have weaknessess, don't let them blind me now." --Paul Simon
50,182 / 50,000
Nov 13, 2009 - 08 18
Alright, I'm making an executive decision.
IAG tonight. I'll be late; parents want to take me out for my birthday (which is next weekend, but I'm *busy* next weekend.) If you need me, either my email (katster AT retstak DOT org) or 916-MAD-KATS should reach me, although I might not answer the latter.
I'm going to try to stop in at the pizza place on my way to write-in, and if it looks promising, we'll relocate there next week.
-kat
----------Kat Templeton, Sacramento Region co-ML * http://www.retstak.org
"If I have weaknessess, don't let them blind me now." --Paul Simon
39,337 / 50,000
Nov 13, 2009 - 18 01
where the wrimos at then? I'm all alone here SOMEBODY COME KEEP ME COMPANY!!
----------Meddle not in the affairs of dragons
for thou art crunchy
and good with ketchup