June 27, 2006
Coup d'Etat at Politics and Prose
Under the guidance of Buck’s Fishing and Camping GM James Alefantis, Adam Hasler, Javier Rivas, and Ryan Wisnor have taken over the coffeehouse on the ground floor of Politics and Prose since the store and Sirius Coffee parted ways. The trio -- also known as Coup d’Etat Coffee Company -- set up shop in March and renamed it Modern Times.
Hasler, a former server at Buck’s, was encouraged by Alefantis to create the partnership and move into the location. Though he is not a financial backer, Alefantis serves as a consultant to the group as it learns the ropes and hones its business plan. Rivas said that Coup d’Etat’s hope is to refurbish the place by this fall in the spirit of a 1920s art-deco café. In addition, they plan to offer options to entice patrons to stop by late and stay later. “We’d really like to pull in a late crowd and offer an expanded dinner menu, as well.”
Currently, Modern Times serves pastries, sandwiches, panini and vegetarian sushi made on site. For summer, Rivas recommends the Italian-inspired Caffe Shakerato as a refresher: a shot of espresso, sugar or simple syrup, and crushed ice, shaken for a good 30 seconds or until frothy.
And as for Sirius? The last outpost at UDC -- and one of the few coffee shops in the area to roast beans in house -- has closed and is liquidating all of its equipment in light of owner Andrew Frank's move to Canada.
Au revoir Sirius, bonjour Coup d'Etat.
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nooooooo.
sirius was my favorite coffeeshop in dc. the beans there were so effin good.
this is sad news.
Give Murky Coffee on the Hill a try - really much better that Sirius, esp. their (really strong) espresso.
Murky also has a location in Arlington, two blocks from Clarendon Metro.
there are so many good looking people at modern times. and the coffe is super good. much better after the change from sirius. food is better too. panini pressed cookies!!!!!!!
I saw they have donuts from Tacos Pepito's Bakery. Maybe we can convince them to carry cupcakes from Le Cupcake like Stacy's in VA does.
The sandwiches are great. I hadn't seen the background on the change, but the food is much better and the coffee is still good.
i never used to go there so i can't compare but the coffee at modern times is organic, which i don't think sirius is, and really good. great place to pop in for light lunch, always a mixed crowd which is nice.
The coffee is great, the service is great, the people are great. Its all in all a pretty wonderful place!