201 Broadway E (outside the Rite Aid drugstore).
In a city depressingly choked with corporate coffee and jaded java junkies, there is a small, glittering oasis of hope located under the Rite Aid marquee on Broadway in Capitol Hill. In just 17 months, Planetary Espresso has developed a cult following of loyal customers and a legendary reputation for its wicked brew.
Kevin Isaminger, the brains behind Planetary Espresso, credits the little coffee cart’s success in part to the roast they use: Dead Man’s Reach. “It is roasted by Raven’s Brew in Ketchikan, Alaska. Dead Man’s Reach has a much higher caffeine content than most coffee blends, and a smooth, nutty, almost chocolatey finish.”
But it could also be the curbside entertainment: “Once, a four-door Honda that was missing one tire and had sparks flying from the wheel slid through the intersection and almost crashed into my coffee cart. Another time, we were visited by [fitness guru] Jack La Lanne in his tight blue polyester suit. Then of course there was the WTO–tear gas and rubber bullets flying everywhere.”
Whatever the case, some say the pull of Planetary Espresso was strong enough to put Habitat Espresso, their full-service, sit-down competitor across the street, out of business…. “But I don’t want to say anything about that,” says Isaminger, ever conscious of his karma. “My wife Jenny and I plan to open another location some time next year.” Best not to jinx it. ADRIAN RYAN