Coyote Coffee Kiosk Opens in Tam Valley

Three years after they were forced to close their longtime coffee kiosk and restaurant at San Francisco General Hospital, two Tam Valley residents have brought that kiosk home.

Greg Batlin and partner Leslie Luyken recently opened Coyote Coffee, a small kiosk in the space next to TJ’s Gym Crossfit along Shoreline Hwy. at the end of the new bike-pedestrian bridge that spans Coyote Creek near Tennessee Valley Road. It’s in the same location as the Jitters coffee cart that closed a few years ago.

“It’s been a long journey to make this happen, and we’re really excited to have this kiosk near our home,” Batlin says.

The kiosk serves up coffee and espresso from Thanksgiving Coffee Company in Fort Bragg, Naked Juices, pastries and baked goods from Beth’s Community Kitchen in downtown Mill Valley and California Smart Foods and breakfast burritos from Sonoma Muffin Works.

“And we’re absolutely open to other suggestions,” Luyken says.

The kiosk is open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and weekends from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with plans to expand to later in the afternoon in the spring as the weather gets warmer and its stays light later.

The opening of Coyote Coffee ends a long journey home for the coffee kiosk, which spent the past three years in storage. Batlin owned the General Java coffee kiosk in the front of SF General Hospital for nearly 20 years. He and Luyken were forced to close General Java, along with the restaurant Cafe Nightingale on the hospital’s second floor, in 2010. The unexpected move came after the hospital inked a multi-million dollar contract with Sodexho, a professional food service conglomerate.

After his hospital operations closed, Batlin opened Sage Lounge, a tapas-style restaurant in the SOMA area of San Francisco. He closed that restaurant late last year.

“We’ve been trying to get this kiosk open here for a long time,” he says.

Luyken says they plan to put out chairs around the kiosk and do as much as they can to attract a wide range of commuters, bicyclists and local residents.

“We want it to just be a great community gathering spot,” she says.

The 411: Coyote Coffee is set up in the space next to TJ’s Gym along Shoreline Hwy. at the end of the new bike-pedestrian bridge that spans Coyote Creek near Tennessee Valley Road. It is open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and weekends from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit the kiosk's Facebook page for more info.

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