Plans to open the hotel have been delayed over the past couple of years. The old Seacoast Inn was demolished to make way for this upscale hotel which will boast an inhouse Cohn restaurant called Sea 180. Not sure how good that will be; I'm not too fond of the Cohn restos.
Room rates are projected to be $250 and up. No offense, but only tourists will pay that rate, not IB locals. The city is banking on "eco-tourists" to fork over the cash. I'm sure there will be curious locals and other folks from San Diego (us included) who might want to check it out for a staycation.
Our next destination was a local coffee shop I hadn't been to since earlier this year...
Man, this Entertainment Value coupon book pays for itself. Of course I used a coupon here! And after meeting some of the local flavor here (of the animal kind), we would definitely go again (more on this in a tiny bit)...
West Coast Cafe is a tiny little coffee shop located next to a Surf Shop and also a few steps down from a newly opened candy store called IB Sweets.
Bert and I ordered a couple of drinks...
I admired some of the local artwork on the walls. I spy Betty Page, John Wayne, Shirley Temple,Madonna and some other peroxide blonde (Lady Gaga?)...
The table with all of the coffee stirrers, sugar packets,etc had these postcards advertising the South Bay Lounge, the bar/nightclub further west on Palm which has the Mariscos Isaac taco truck in its parking lot.
While Bert and I waited for our drinks to be made, the girls walked over to the sweet shop where they heard some interesting conversation between a southern visitor and the owner of the shop. The visitor was upset that they were out of some sort of rare marshmallow candy and was going on about how she traveled so far and blah blah blah.
I liked seeing all of the different flyers on their windows, from an environmental group (Wildcoast) to the Joshua Tree Festival, and the Hare Krishna Lounge (it's in PB).
In the front was my Mocha Breeze ($4.50) - Ice cream, chocolate and espresso. This was really good and I'd totally get this again!!!! Next to that was Bert's Iced Cappucino. It wasn't what he expected because they made the hot capp then added cubed ice to it which watered it down. He thought the ice would be crushed and have more of a slushly feel, like a frappucino. Well, now we know not order that.
Now about the local flavor...Right next door at the TNT Surf Shop lives a cat that seems to "own" this territory. In fact, you can see him in the back underneath the patio chairs.
His name....Nicholas. He has white socks and looks like he has a mustache.
He prowled the patio area and walked in and out of the shop a few times...
He even weaved himself through my legs and the chair and just plopped himself down for a few minutes before becoming bored and finding another spot.
In the scene below, there was a staredown of a local man's dog and Nicholas. Earlier, the man and the dog were waiting in the cafe for his drink. As they left, the dog stood and stared at Nicholas who seemed poised to do...something.
It was so funny watching this all happen. The man said, "You better stay away...that cat will MESS YOU UP! Like last time!" (What?) The lady worked in the surf shop and kind of laughed at it all. The man also said, "That cat is tough! Watch out! My dog will just run away crying for mercy!"....
In case you're wondering, there wasn't a dog and cat fight, but it was hilarious just seeing that cat hold court and hearing the dog owner's comments.
Apparently, the cat is well known. TC's friend (an IB resident) called him by name. When we dropped her off at home and told her dad we went to West Coast Cafe and met the cat, he said, "Ah yes, Nicholas!"...
Here's the candy that the girls came back with...a bunch of gummy worms, rings, Air Heads sour candy strips, and candy lego blocks.
Here's a video I found (which could've been a lot shorter), but it does show what it looks like inside:
I'll have to go there next time and try some of their homemade fudge.
Previous visit to West Coast Cafe:
March 2013
Seaside Candy
150 Palm Ave
Imperial Beach, CA 91932
(619)500-5688
seasidecandyib.com
Article about the candy store:
"Seaside Candy Shop to open soon" - The Imperial Beach Patch, July 2013
Articles about the new hotel:
"City of IB approves Seacoast Inn Plans - New Hotel Slated to open in late 2011" Imperial Beach News, May 6, 2010
"Finally, a hotel for Imperial Beach" UT San Diego, March 26, 2011
"Ground broken for Seacoast Inn" - Imperial Beach News, June 20, 2011
"New hotel opening delayed until 2013" -Imperial Beach Patch, June 2012
"November opening planned for Imperial Beach Hotel, restaurant" - San Diego Business Journal, Aug. 21, 2013
We plan to visit again in the near future to try their other coffee drinks. TC just wants to see Nicholas, haha. Okay, I want to see the cat again as well!
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