El Gato Negro Coffeehouse Bookstore and Roasting Company

    The only thing missing is the black cat this coffeehouse is named for. I look in a wicker chair by the front door for a curled feline with its tail wrapped around its contracted paws. I look on top of the nearest bookshelf where wind funnels through an open window. I look under one of the big slouchy chairs in front of a huge mosaic top coffee table. This bookstore/coffeehouse is family friendly, well attended, and has friendly employees. There are families already here this morning with kids, backpackers, retired ex-pats wearing shorts and sandals, locals checking e mails on free wifi. There is money to be made feeding the soul and no one in old Route 66 diners would have ever thought the five cent cup of coffee would morph into the multi billion dollar corporation of Starbucks. Expanding coffee and cats into the Universe is man’s next step. We followed monkeys into space and there are no good reasons cat’s and coffee shops can’t go next. Having black cats around always makes my coffee taste better.