Kay's Coffee Shop

Kay's Coffee Shop

1124 S. Seaward Ave.

Ventura, CA 93001

In the short time that I've been blogging, this space has been Full of Beans (6/9/13, which still has it's Ojai location that I highly recommend, in spite of serving Santa Barbara Roast-unless you like Santa Barbara Roast), and La Petite Réve Cafe (6/21/13, which still exists in it's catering form), and it really is a great space. It's a block off the water on Seaward, so close you can hear and smell the ocean.

I was a bit bummed last year when La Petite Réve went out, and I wondered if another coffee shop would come in. Then, late last year I had seen Kay's, but hadn't had a chance to stop by. I didn't know if it was a coffee house or some other type of shop. With my kids in Junior Guards, it was a good time to check.

It's a tiny space, with a few tables inside and a few outside, but it's protected from the wind, so outside is comfortable even on cool, overcast June gloom kind of days. Like Django's, (8/11/13), they serve Beacon Coffee, which I really like-less acidic then Santa Barbara Roast.

It wasn't too busy the first time that I was in, and I struck up a conversation with LaDonna, the owner. She said that she'd opened in October, that the business was going well, and she enjoyed it. I asked about all the planes around the shop and in the logo, and she said that she had named the shop after her father, who built model planes as a hobby. LaDonna seemed to tear up a bit as she spoke of her father, which I thought was rather endearing. She also said that there was only so many things you could do with a surf theme.

LaDonna is very proud of her shop. I didn't ask if this was her first shop or not, but she made reference to several local businesses, giving me the impression that she'd been around Ventura for a lot longer than I have. When I commented on the use of Beacon Coffee instead of Santa Barbara Roast, which so many other local shops use, she said without hesitation that she used Beacon because they were a local business, as if Santa Barbara Roast was on another planet.

A large coffee is $2, with refills $1. Kay's is open from 7 to 7 daily, and have punch cards for frequent visitors. Since every time I've been in the last three weeks I'd just finished my run, I had only the coffee while I sat comfortably on the patio, but several people raved about the scones and other pastries she served, which are also locally made.

The perfect walking distance from my house, and great after a beach run, I now have another great place to sit and drink coffee.