Business & Tech
Downtown Napa Café Adds Entertainment
Along with art shows and the weekly open mic, Molinari Caffé in downtown Napa is soon to start screening movies and vintage TV shows. Owner Rick Molinari also offers a custom coffee blend, gluten-free pastries and other alternative treats.
Napa Valley Patch readers knew what they were doing when they voted Molinari Caffé Napa's best coffee shop within weeks of its downtown debut.
Less than nine months after Rick Molinari opened for business, his place has become a Main Street mecca.
"It is a lot of work, but I love it," he said.
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Lawyers getting their caffeine fix before hearings at the nearby Napa County Criminal Courthouse, downtown workers fueling up before their shifts and book-scrutinizing students from Pacific Union College in Angwin are just some of Molinari's regular customers.
The creative community has also found a home at the caffé, where monthly exhibitions spotlight local artists like current exhibitors Richard Perot, Shelly Hanan and Mark Mattioli.
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The caffé's Thursday night open mic, hosted by Jay Large, features musicians and poets and has growns so successful, Molinari says, "I'll probably have to buy more furniture just for the open mic."
He's also ordered a projector to show classic movies and nostalgia television shows on selected nights, Molinari said.
Located directly across Main Street from Veterans Memorial Park, Molinari Caffé serves all the usual coffee and espresso drinks with some unusual specialties like "the Nutella," a stunningly sweet confection made with a dollop of the famed hazelnut-milk-cocoa spread.
You can also order loose-leaf teas, French pressed for up to four minutes; but if you ask Molinari for chai, he will politely tell you he doesn't serve it.
For solid food, pastries, deviled eggs and sandwiches are on the menu along with gluten-free snacks and artfully-decorated cake pops.
Molinari, whose motto is "Death before decaf," serves Weaver's coffee and has created his own designer blend.
Vital Stats: Molinari Caffé, 815 Main St, Napa: 707) 927-3623; Email: info@molinaricaffe.com; Twitter: @Molinari_Caffe; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molinari-Caffe/209902049087964;
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