The History of the U-T MoW CoffeeBar

Now-retired editor Jerry Warren brought in a second coffee machine, which we promptly broke.

There was the Twin Peaks Chronicles, a newsletter produced by Union staffers who had violent perspectives about the show, and about coffee. Legal affairs reporter Lorie Hearn went to Washington State and sent back dispatches on the show’s rural mysteries. She even brought back photos. We suspected she met Kyle near a tree somewhere.

There’s more, but we’ll get back to Twin Peaks in a minute.

One day in late 1990, someone said we needed more space for our coffee operation, which was now overrunning a desk. We moved to the east side of the building next to the metro editors’ conference room.

You’ve wondered. So gather around Slurpers.

Now it can be told. This is how it all began...

It was autumn, 1990.

David Lynch’s eerie TV series, “Twin Peaks,” was captivating the newsroom with its quirky plot about the mysterious death of Laura Palmer, a volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels.

Simultaneous, someone brought a Braun coffee maker to the newsroom, a small 10-inch-cup job, and placed it on a desk about where Susan Gembrowski sits today.

We called it “Damn Fine Cups o’ Joe,” after the kitschy line made famous by the show’s FBI agent, Kyle McCLaughlin, who investigated Palmer’s murder.

One pot became six. Then 10. And one flavor became eight. Someone brought in a refrigerator, Occasionally, there was food, cherry pie or Christmas cookies. Rum balls.

As now, coffee was purchased from Pannikin at wholesale rates with money from donations. One day, something wonderful happened. We counted coins and Sacré Bleu, donations dramatically exceeded costs. What should we do with the extra money?

That’s where Twin Peaks comes back in. ‘What would Laura Palmer do with the money?’ we asked ourselves. Give it to Meals-on-Wheels, why of course!

Pannikin donated eight-ounce paper cups and a Bunn brewer. It was great, but we had to lug jugs of water all the way from the ladies’ restroom, nearly 100 feet!

Donations increased enough to support a staff, so Jean Fraser and Hannah Hui and others were hired to manage the load. It was heavy, never-ending work!

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Then came the Persian Gulf War. All eyes were glued to CNN, scud studs, sometimes 24-hours a day. We drank coffee like it was beer in the desert. Eventually, we adopted the name, “The San Diego Union Pannikin Meals-on-Wheels CoffeeBar,” which we modified after the merger.

Wells Fargo gave us a free checking account, which it maintains. A board of directors materialized, including Gerry Braun, Cheryl Clark, Arthur Salm and several others who are now gone. The only vote taken directed that we always allocate 50 percent of donations to Meals-on-Wheels. This remains our strictest rule. This is why you buy goodies for twice what we paid for them.

The bar survived a rending transition during merger remodeling, when some of us relocated across the street. But rewards were great. Jack Reber gave up the space which was deigned for his office so coffeepots could be tethered to a water line.

No longer did we have to lug water from the restroom.

The bar was expanded for a library/reading room, gossip forum and art gallery, with microwave oven and refrigerator. Maintenance personnel gave us plumbing and a sink.

Smolens is a HUGE Supporter!

Noble soldiers serving sleepy Slurpers.

Checks written by Slurper staffers help ease the load of counting coins, which has become an enormous task. Our automatic coin counter recently broke under the strain.

Over the years, we have heard your complaints – too much this, not enough that. We have responded. We added popcorn, candies and pretzels, even calcium tablets and anti-inflammatories. Red whips were added because Terry Rodgers asked for them.

We’ve come a long way, we busy people contributing in our small way to the community. Just think what Laura Palmer would say.

A version of the above story was published in the May 1, 1995 edition of the Slurper, which came out monthly. The newsletter was abandoned when MoW Bar management’s job obligations expanded.

A footnote: By 1995, we had only contributed $23,477.95 to Meals-on-Wheels. Now the amount of donations will be $229,305.46 as of the end of August, 2008.

Susan White. Chocolate Jones

By Cheryl Clark

Special to the Slurper