OUT & ABOUT: CAFE SOCIETY

Kicking butt socially with Kick Butt Coffee

Martial arts instructor Thomas Gohring noticed a social vacuum on Airport Boulevard, so opened the Asian-themed Kick Butt Coffee

By Michael Barnes
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, May 08, 2008

The caffeine kicks in once the sun sets at Kick Butt Coffee.

That's when the scene turns lively, as a tiny stage hosts — what else in Austin? — musicians and comedians, but not to the aural detriment of sippers to the rear of the shop. During a Wednesday open mike event, Bob Khosravi burbled on comfortably about his ex-girlfriend, his car, his Iranian heritage: "It makes a difference when you read Dr. Seuss to learn English rather than for fun. Everything you say begins to rhyme ... "

Owner Thomas Gohring has filled a gaping hole in Austin's lively social environment with his shop on an otherwise antiseptic stretch of upper Airport Boulevard. The ginger-topped, hazel-eyed martial-arts instructor at Master Gohring's Tai Chi & Kung Fu noticed there wasn't a convenient place to grab some caffeine around his lifelong North Austin haunts. From his studio in the dense retail district surrounding Highland Mall, one could bop up to Anderson Lane for the indie fave, Genuine Joe, or drop down to Greater Hyde Park for Flightpath and Epoch, or settle for the fine product but rather anodyne scene at a Starbucks.

So Gohring, who graduated from Anderson High School and the University of Texas, researched real estate and coffee beans, took out a home equity loan, secured an all-important URL, commissioned a self-referential logo, and, in February, opened the Asian-themed Kick Butt Coffee in a revived strip shopping center around the corner from Spec's Liquor Warehouse.

Not everything rolled out as planned. One early customer said of the shop's brewed coffee: "It's not that kick butt."

So Gohring ordered a darker roast from local bean-sorter Republica.

During the day, a softened southwestern light filters through the sleek shop, glancing off the blood-sport-red walls and black, lacquered trim, without casting a glare on the flat-panel television, which on my visits screened martial arts movies. Laptoppers station themselves in booths — one April day, real estate specialist Joe Beatrice lingered at one from 1 p.m. to past 10 p.m. — snacking on pastries from Russell's Bakery or choosing from mostly healthy liquid alternatives to coffee.

Some customers, lounging at outside tables in the welcome wind or clustered inside around stage, said they drop by Kick Butt at least once a week, others more often. Living or working in the area, they clearly longed for a community with some character, and Kick Butt provides that, without the furry, overstated funkiness of some Austin coffeehouses. It helps that — rare among coffee shops — Kick Butt has secured a full liquor license and has concocted all sorts of specialty drinks.

Gohring has created a clean, open, inviting space, instantly recognized by its customers as socially essential. It could be duplicated in other slivers of lifelessness on Austin's margins.

Out & About, which covers Austin's social scene at austin360.com/outandabout and in the Tuesday and Thursday Life sections, branches out to XL with a periodic feature, Cafe Society, profiling Central Texas coffehouses, pubs, sidewalk cafes, clubs and street life.

Kick Butt Coffee.5775 Airport Blvd. 454-5425. 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays-Sundays. www.kickbuttcoffee.com

• Defining kick butt:Kick Butt Coffee owner Thomas Gohring says it depends on emphasis, voice and tone, but the shop's name can translate into:

1) general excellence

2) kinetic motivation, or

3) the physical results of over-indulgence