Brewing community at Paddy's Coffee Shop

KALW’s Hana Baba lives in the East Bay town of Union City. Often, when she’s in San Francisco, she’s asked, “Where exactly is Union City?” Well, it’s about 22 miles south of Oakland, off the 880. Now you know.

In downtown Union City, there’s a place where people go to hear music and spoken word, to discuss current events in town hall meetings, to study, to network, and to … drink coffee. That place is Paddy’s Coffee Shop, named after its owner, Paddy Iyer.

Hana Baba tells us why Paddy’s is much more than the corner coffee shop, and why Paddy Iyer is a Union City Hero.

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HANA BABA: When you walk into Paddy’s Coffee Shop in the neighborhood of Old Alvarado of Union City, you can easily forget that you're in a city. The corner shop lies on a quaint, tree-lined street facing a park with lush trees. Neighborhood shopkeepers are having a chat on the sidewalk. And as you walk in, the shop owner, Paddy Iyer, greets each customer with a warm grin, addressing each by name. Like with customer Rahul Langer.

PADDY IYER: Hey Rahul haven’t seen you in a long time!”

Before Rahul even makes it up to the counter, Paddy has already started on his order.

BABA: So you know what he wants?

IYER: Yeah

BABA: How do you know what he wants without him telling you?

IYER: He's a regular. And I always know he goes for a cup of coffee. And his wife usually gets chai.

That’s how it is here at Paddy’s. He knows nearly everyone that comes in – their names, their preferred drinks, and he follows where they study or work.

Paddy was born and raised in Bombay and came to the Bay Area in the early ‘90s to work in the software industry. Then, he says, he gradually became disenchanted with the tech world and sought out something different. Something new.

IYER: When I moved to the U.S. I saw this concept of coffee houses and every thing, and I had this random dream, I always wanted to own coffee house.

Coffeehouses weren't a common thing in India. Paddy's fascination with the trend led him to opening up his own coffee shop in Union City. But seven years later, customers will tell you the coffee, tea and smoothies are only part of why they come here. Paddy's Coffee Shop has grown into a center of neighborhood community activity. In this space, he hosts healthcare debates, art shows, film festivals, town hall forums and concerts.

Students from Union City's Logan High have a prominent presence here. On any given weeknight, you’ll find standup comedy, youth bands and spoken word. But it's not only artistic expression Paddy encourages.

IYER: I try to inculcate the civic responsibilities among the youth out here, so we do open mic’s with voter registration drives. It’s a very interesting thing, you have a voter registration drive, and then you have the open mic and the youth talk about the relevance of being part of the civic process.

In fact Paddy's was a polling station this past election – the only one based in a commercial space in all of Alameda County. Paddy speaks affectionately about his "kids,” as he calls them. He even stays open 24 hours during exam week so they can study.

IYER: There are two sets of people happy here – the first is the students, the second is my wife, because she doesn’t get to see me for a month and she’s happy with that!

BABA: Can you afford that?

IYER: Economically, yes it is expensive. But, when you look at it, you see the students hitting the books and then they come back after three or four months and they say, "Hey, you know, we graduated, and it’s thanks to you for staying open. We wouldn't have done it without you being around.” That is success for us.

Once the teens are college-bound, Paddy helps some of them find employment. Sometimes, he starts them off in his own coffee shop. College student Monica Roquez is in a white apron behind the counter, busily wiping down the espresso machines.

MONICA ROQUEZ: Do you know he names all of us? His little mignons, we all have names. He calls me Zombie.

BABA: Why did you get that name?

ROQUEZ: Because when I was starting, I didn’t, you don't know anything when you start. So I was just standing like this.

IYER: Like a zombie!

MONICA: Yeah. Now the whole row calls me that. It's okay. (laughs)

In a world where people increasingly connect on social networking websites, Paddy’s is like a real-life chat room. A throwback to old school, face-to-face networking with Paddy at the center, making all the connections. He smiles and proudly points to a framed photograph behind him of himself with two young ladies as an example.

IYER: This is Justine and this is Rachel. Justine, when she came in, she knew she wanted to get into the hospitality management industry. So with that in mind I tried to help her and guide her as to what she wanted to do and stuff like that. Now she’s working for the Starlight Foundation, planning their events.

Rachel was always interested in public service. And we helped her, we guided her and now she's working for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

BABA: So these are like Paddy graduates.

IYER: You could call it that (laughs). You could call it that.

Paddy beams when he talks about the kids, his patrons and about his wife. He says she's the invisible force behind the shop. But I notice, he seldom talks about himself.

IYER: I'm boring! (laughs) It’s not about me, it’s about the community.

But the community recognizes him. As I sip the warm mango chai he made me, I see a big wall with dozens of hand-written thank you notes to Paddy. Like greeting cards signed with youthful first-grade scribble. And in the center, there's a large framed award of recognition from the California Assembly naming Paddy as a Union City Hero for his civic involvement.

IYER: You know, I just do it. I don't do it for awards or stuff like that. And, next thing you know I get the call saying, “Hey, you know, you've been nominated!” First I thought it was a prank call. (laughs)

BABA: You thought it was a prank call?

IYER: I thought it was a prank call! (laughs)

See, for Paddy, it’s still not about him. It’s about the people he connects with at his shop.

IYER: When you talk to customers they say, "Oh, we don't want to go to work." I don't have that issue. It's because I genuinely love coming here. I love the coffee, for sure. But it’s the fact that I meet people every day. We talk to people everyday, we know their ups and downs and how they can be helped or how they can help the others – that’s a successful day. That is a day at Paddy’s.

At Paddy's Coffee Shop in Union City, I'm Hana Baba for Crosscurrents.

Check out the events calendar at Paddy's Coffee Shop here.