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WALTHAM -- Architect and property owner Fred Kimberk, opened Cafe on the Common for personal reasons. "There wasn't a place to get good coffee in Waltham," Kimberk said. "I have a lot of tenants here and I felt we needed a decent place to get coffee."
Kimberk owns and works at 677 Main St. and for three years he attempted to get a cafe at the location.
First he contacted Peet's Coffee and Starbucks. But Kimberk said both companies judged the "demographics of the location" as unfavorable.
Next, three separate individuals said they would open a cafe, but each ended up changing their mind. The last potential tenant backed out with the cafe space nearly completed. At that point instead of trying to convince a forth person, Kimberk decided to open the cafe himself.
Six months after opening the cafe, Kimberk reflected, "I kind of went off on a tangent, mostly I restore historic buildings, I am an architect by profession."
Now Kimberk starts each weekday at 5:30 and ends it about an hour after the cafe closes at 8 p.m. During the day, he splits his time between his business restoring buildings and managing properties, and the cafe. Fortunately his office is right above the cafe so he doesn't have to travel far to juggle responsibilities.
Although Kimberk, 55, has been an architect for decades, he isn't a complete stranger to the food business. At 18 he helped start The Corner Store at Inman Square in Cambridge, an early organic food store, restaurant and bakery. Kimberk said he started the business for the same reason he started the coffee shop -- because there was a need for it.
The Corner Store lasted four years until it was destroyed in a fire, at which point Kimberk embarked on a second career by enrolling in the Architectural Association School in London.
After graduation, Kimberk went on to specialize in restoring historic buildings. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he bought three buildings to restore along and around Main Street. In 1999, he purchased the building next to the library at 1416 Spring St. Later he purchased the former nursing school at 760 Main St. and 677 Main St. -- the office building where the cafe is now located. All three buildings date from around the 1890s.
Finishing up a cup of coffee at the cafe, Kimberk said he has fulfilled his goal of bringing quality coffee to Waltham, but not without an intense education that included going through three coffee distributors. The first distributor provided excellent quality, but was difficult for the coffee machines to process. Kimball wasn't happy with the quality of the second distributor. Finally Kimberk found Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Co. -- a distributor that was not only socially conscious, but provided excellent quality coffee.
Customers looking for a jolt can now choose among Moka Sumatra, Birdwatcher's Blend and Ring of Fire. There's tea and if they are hungry, there are sandwiches, a daily soup choice, as well as cookies and scones. Many of the items are made directly on the premises by Laurie Janowki. The breads are produced by Iggy's Bakery in Cambridge.
Although it took a few months. Kimberk said the cafe now attracts a diverse crowd that includes college students working on their laptops, business meetings and poetry readings.
WALTHAM -- Architect and property owner Fred Kimberk, opened Cafe on the Common for personal reasons. "There wasn't a place to get good coffee in Waltham," Kimberk said. "I have a lot of tenants here and I felt we needed a decent place to get coffee."
Kimberk owns and works at 677 Main St. and for three years he attempted to get a cafe at the location.
First he contacted Peet's Coffee and Starbucks. But Kimberk said both companies judged the "demographics of the location" as unfavorable.
Next, three separate individuals said they would open a cafe, but each ended up changing their mind. The last potential tenant backed out with the cafe space nearly completed. At that point instead of trying to convince a forth person, Kimberk decided to open the cafe himself.
Six months after opening the cafe, Kimberk reflected, "I kind of went off on a tangent, mostly I restore historic buildings, I am an architect by profession."
Now Kimberk starts each weekday at 5:30 and ends it about an hour after the cafe closes at 8 p.m. During the day, he splits his time between his business restoring buildings and managing properties, and the cafe. Fortunately his office is right above the cafe so he doesn't have to travel far to juggle responsibilities.
Although Kimberk, 55, has been an architect for decades, he isn't a complete stranger to the food business. At 18 he helped start The Corner Store at Inman Square in Cambridge, an early organic food store, restaurant and bakery. Kimberk said he started the business for the same reason he started the coffee shop -- because there was a need for it.
The Corner Store lasted four years until it was destroyed in a fire, at which point Kimberk embarked on a second career by enrolling in the Architectural Association School in London.
After graduation, Kimberk went on to specialize in restoring historic buildings. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he bought three buildings to restore along and around Main Street. In 1999, he purchased the building next to the library at 1416 Spring St. Later he purchased the former nursing school at 760 Main St. and 677 Main St. -- the office building where the cafe is now located. All three buildings date from around the 1890s.
Finishing up a cup of coffee at the cafe, Kimberk said he has fulfilled his goal of bringing quality coffee to Waltham, but not without an intense education that included going through three coffee distributors. The first distributor provided excellent quality, but was difficult for the coffee machines to process. Kimball wasn't happy with the quality of the second distributor. Finally Kimberk found Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Co. -- a distributor that was not only socially conscious, but provided excellent quality coffee.
Customers looking for a jolt can now choose among Moka Sumatra, Birdwatcher's Blend and Ring of Fire. There's tea and if they are hungry, there are sandwiches, a daily soup choice, as well as cookies and scones. Many of the items are made directly on the premises by Laurie Janowki. The breads are produced by Iggy's Bakery in Cambridge.
Although it took a few months. Kimberk said the cafe now attracts a diverse crowd that includes college students working on their laptops, business meetings and poetry readings.
