If you're triggered by something sinister, do you seek its meaning, or do you leave it alone?
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Small-town barista and occasional stray animal rescuer Jessamine Spencer never would have guessed that a video about missing paranormal show-host Amy L...
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"THIS ISN'T YOUR EVERYDAY SPOT FOR A JAVA FIX — IT'S SO MUCH MORE."
COMMON GROUNDS, LOCATED IN THE HEART OF WESTGARDENS, CALIFORNIA, was bought and opened in 1962 by Janet & Jill Hudson, two pioneers in the local LGBTQIA+ community. It was initially meant as a book store for LGBTQIA+ members, allies, and advocates, until Janet voiced her desire to sell and make coffee, too—a passion of hers.
There was much disagreement on this, at first, as Jill was more of a tea-drinker and wasn't sure she could be in a relationship with someone so avidly fond of coffee; but they soon came to an agreement—Janet would oversee the coffee side of things, and would offer freshly brewed tea, too, while Jill would be responsible for stocking and selling books (predominantly indie/self-published, if possible).
Finding a name was something of a struggle for them. Both well-known for their creative minds, they argued over their different options. "Rise & Grind" was nearly the winning name, but Jill vetoed it, worrying it would attract the wrong kind of people (according to Janet, she didn't specify what she meant by this). Jill thought of "The Trembling Cup", but Janet thought it didn't fully embody their objectives. They also came up with "Mug Shots" ("Funny, but a bit on the nose, don't you think?") and "Your Mourning Cup" ("OK, the building is supposedly haunted, but that one was a bit dreary."), then "The Pour Over" and "Deja Brew", but they didn't stick. "Common Grounds" came to be when they thought of how they'd had to make sacrifices and agreements to start up their business—by finding a common ground.
Haunted? Yes, you read that right. Janet and Jill bought the place for dirt cheap because of its reputation as a building with spooky sounds and odd orb-like visions that disturbed the former owners. But these fierce women weren't afraid; Janet was a long-time skeptic, and Jill welcomed the idea of specters, imagining that "maybe they'd help with our daily chores, yeah?"
Janet has tears in her eyes as she quotes her late wife—they got married in 2010—and wishes she were still around to see how the business thrives today. Current owner Chad Nichols took over after his aunt Jill's death, at Janet's insistence—"I was getting too old to handle all the aspects of owning a store," says Janet, looking at a picture of her late wife's nephew with a smile. "He's a bit of a jerk, most days, but he's been stellar, otherwise."
Chad's reputation as a "jerk" is one thing (and Janet speaks of it easily, claiming "oh, he knows it too, and doesn't care!"), but his fame for rescuing stray animals is what he's most known for in Westgardens. He has brought more and more tourists from nearby Santa Rosa and San Francisco to visit the shop due to its high-quality brews and top-notch book selection, but also his notoriety with locating, catching, and caring for strays. In 2015, after losing his dog and never recovering him, Chad decided to add the "stray animals refuge" to the store's checklist. He works alongside a shelter in Santa Rosa, and has enlisted countless foster homes and veterinarians to help with his goal of never again hearing of a dog or cat (or any other pet) running off and not being found. "Westgardens is more known for its wine than for its friendliness towards strays," says Chad, as he shows us the back-room separated from the main shop by a glass window. There, stray animals are allowed to roam freely, lounge in the cubby holes or sprawl onto the beds. A wall splits up cats and dogs, and there's another section for other types of pets, ranging from gerbils and hamsters, to snakes—yes, they've rescued pet snakes, too.
Now, in 2022, Chad still owns and manages the place full-time, with the help of assistant managers Marley LeCuyer and Jessamine Spencer, and he employs three other staff-members, called "barista booksellers", as Jill had named them in the original—and still used—employee handbook. "I love books, and I love coffee," says Jessamine, who started working at Common Grounds before her twentieth birthday; she's now twenty-five, and has no plans to work anywhere else. "And I love animals, too, so it's definitely the best place to work."
If you're in the Santa Rosa area and getting a bit tired of all the wine-tasting, give the small town of Westgardens a chance; and if you go there, make sure to stop by Main Street and stroll on in to Common Grounds for a delicious cup of coffee, or a cool read from one of the stocked bookshelves.
