Soma Coffeehouse recently opened a new coffee shop in a part of town that's been lacking good coffee. It's close to the northeastern part of campus and offers a different vibe than Soma's other locations. It's spacious, well-lit and open, and, overall, the shop has a different look.
I sat down and interviewed Soma Coffeehouse Crosstown's general manager, Evan Moser, to get the low-down on the new location.
Spoon: What exactly is your job title, and what exactly do you do?
Evan Moser: Well, I am the general manager of this Soma location, so I’m in charge of ensuring that the experience that our customers receive is beyond their expectations. In the specialty coffee world, so many people like their coffee in so many ways that it’s kind of our job to connect with these people and understand how they like their coffee, how they like their cafe experience, and make sure they’re getting that from us and leaving here happier than they came in.
Spoon: That shouldn’t be hard to do, because coffee makes people happy.
EM: Coffee is universal. I mean, it’s so ingrained in the daily rituals of so many different people, and it’s so great to see in a town like Bloomington, where you’ve got such a diverse population of customers: new-to-town students that you get to meet, fresh faces all the time, all the way to the regulars that have been coming in since like the dawn of time, more or less. Bloomington’s an onion, and it’s fun to kind of peel back the layers and get to see all of what’s really going on inside.
Spoon: Why did Soma open a new location?
EM: We found that this area of town was lacking in a good specialty coffee provider, and while we’ve done extremely well on the south side of campus, and on the western side downtown at our two current stores, this was a prime location for us to expand our connections with the university as well as the surrounding community.
Spoon: I’ve noticed each location has a different vibe. What’s different about this location? What sets it apart?
EM: I would definitely say the amount of space that’s inside of it, and the aesthetics differ in that we’re not a carbon-copy organization. Like, we’re not going to open 3 identical coffee shops just because that’s not the angle we’re working at all. But what is the same, is high-quality service and our menus the product we provide, the experience we provide. We strive to keep that consistent across the board.
Spoon: What is your favorite thing to get here?
EM: I have a couple favorites. I would definitely say coffee-wise, I’m a big fan of the Red Hottie. It’s a February seasonal drink that we do secretly offer off-menu year-round. It’s a cayenne mocha, so it’s got a kind of kick behind it. That goes really well with the coffee flavors, too. We’re going to be specializing some new drinks for the months of April and May: The Vietnamese coffee, which is espresso shots with sweetened condensed milk — amazing — and Thin Lizzy, which is cold-brewed coffee with soy milk and mint. It tastes almost identical to a Thin Mint.
Spoon: What is your favorite as far as juice or smoothies go?
EM: I’m a big fan of the Drop the Beet, it’s one of the pre-designed combinations that we have on our menu. We also do build-your-own juices. But for the Drop the Beet, it has carrot, beet and ginger in it. It’s super, super colorful first off, so it looks really cool while you’re drinking it. But it also tastes really good and is super good for you.
Spoon: What is your favorite part about what you do at Soma?
EM: Just being able to connect with the community and get to know all the different types of people that live in this town, and provide them what they’re looking for in their daily routine to go out and get whatever they want accomplished. It’s got a nice feeling to it. It’s cool to facilitate that through something so universally liked, such as coffee, or beverages in general.
Next time you're on the northeast side of campus, check out Soma's new location. While it's got the same drinks you've grown to love, it's got a completely different feel.