It's Time to Say Our Prayers: Temple's First Anniversary

Who didn’t pass the old Levinson’s Bookstore with its Tudor frontage and dream big of turning it into something living and spectacular?

Many of us dreamed about it and one man, Sean Kohmescher, did it. By hand, he gutted and transformed the inside of this long unused property into a serene Temple, a place for daily ritual through prayers of coffee and tea. The same attention to detail to build the Temple went into the crafting of each cup.

Downtown takes dreamers. It requires them. Sometimes it chews them up and twists their visions until they are unrecognizable. The entrepreneurs who paint this often sparse canvas—or worse bleak landscape—mystify us with their imagination amidst mediocrity.

Temple is one of those visions, an oasis of beauty and precision, of soul and conversation. It is a magnet amidst mirages of construction; a smoke signal to the other artists that now is the best time to come; a vigil for the vivacious, thriving Downtown that Sacramento and Sacramentans deserve.

One must admire the guts of these entrepreneurs: Pat Murakami from Ambrosia, a former pastry chef instructor at famed Le Cordon Bleu in France; Ali Mackani and Chef Luc Dendievel of 55 Degrees; Matt and Chef Fred Haines of Bistro 33; Randy Paragary and Chef Kurt Spataro of Esquire Grill, Buddha Bar, and Spataro’s; the Lords of The Broiler; and Ron Fleming of 4th Street Grille and Chops. They are the Believers…The Seers. They are successful even in failure and flaw—even when we disagree on interpretation.

But there is something fantastic and unique about Kohmescher’s effort on the alley of 10th Street between J and K Streets. Kohmescher digs deep, works nights inside the tudor frontage rehabilitating and un-concealing layers of beauty from under years of neglect, studies what works and doesn’t work at other coffee purveyors, designs his own logo and graphics, and then opens this object of Zen, a home for those of us seeking it. He survives amidst the glut of Starbucks, the settling dust from the vast construction around him, and the loneliness of the beacon at night with an offering of the perfect cup of coffee, shot of espresso, the macchiato, and fresh teas. Temple teaches us with the special blend of its values: organic, fair trade, and locally owned.

Today then is a day of celebration, a story beyond survival, a cup overflowing, prayers answered, and prosperity on the horizon. Temple has been built upon the chiming taps of laptops, the eclectic crowd of Downtown lobbyists, politicos, developers, reporters, urbanists, and artists, and the devotees of Kohmescher’s coffee. Some literally refuse to drink coffee anywhere else because their tastes have changed. How will the Temple evolve as new neighbors finally arrive?

This story is to be continued…
If you have read this far, then you will be rewarded. All caffeinated prayers are answered today with the steam of free espresso and macchiatos. Happy Anniversary!