Cafe Aquatica in Jenner serves up locally roasted coffee with a side of scenic views
Delicious lattes, sandwiches and baked goods at Cafe Aquatica in Jenner all come with one of the best side dishes in the entire Bay Area: a commanding view of the Russian River estuary.
At low tide, this means a front-row seat to sea birds, deer and foxes foraging for tiny critters in the sand. At high tide, there’s a veritable cavalcade of kayakers, stand-up paddlers and sometimes water bikers zipping by.
If the food and views aren’t enough, Cafe Aquatica also consistently serves up hearty helpings of an inimitably west county vibe. Most of the produce is grown locally. The coffee beans are roasted in Sebastopol. The music — yes, there’s live music every weekend — is performed by singers and players from right here in our backyard. All the seating was crafted by North Bay carpenters.
“We are as local as it gets,” said owner Rachel Kulinski, 32. “That’s definitely part of the appeal.”
The cafe was founded in 2007 and celebrated five years under Kulinski’s leadership this October. Looking forward, Kulinski said the next few years will bring big changes and a recommitment to all the things that have made Cafe Aquatica such an icon on the Sonoma Coast.
Inspiration for the cafe
Cafe Aquatica was created by a west county local named Aron Parks. His vision at the time was to create a small coffee shop right on the water that celebrated natural beauty.
Originally the plan was to call the place Driftwood Cafe. Then Parks saw the movie, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” and the ideal name changed to Aquatica. Parks later drew inspiration from another movie — "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” — when he modeled the cafe logo after the Hai Peng junk ship.
After creating the logo, Parks did all the original carpentry for the business’ space himself, building counters, chairs, even parts of the open air deck that looks out on the river and Penny Island to the south.
Much of this handiwork still exists today.
“When we opened, the place was about good coffee and nature,” said Parks. He added that, according to the former owner, at one point, the building at the east end of Jenner’s tiny downtown was home to the first espresso machine in Sonoma County.
Cafe Aquatica became a fan favorite. Locals enjoyed stopping there on day trips to and from the coast. Visitors saw it as a great pit stop on road trips from Tomales Bay to Mendocino County.
By the late 2010s, Parks had expanded his empire with several offer coffee shops across the county. When he decided to sell the storefronts and focus on coffee roasting, Parks gave first dibs to those employees whom he thought would be good stewards of the brands. Kulinski, who had been working as a chef and barista, was an obvious choice.
“Cafe Aquatica was my baby so it was really important for me to pass it on to someone who cared about it as much as me,” Parks said. “I could see (Kulinski) had leadership qualities, she cared about the greater connection to community, and most important she has a good heart.”
Owners, patrons invest in local
Parks and Kulinski worked out a deal and Kulinski took over the spot in October 2018.
Kulinski took over as owner and Parks stayed on as the exclusive coffee roaster — today all beans are provided by Parks’ company, Ataria Coffee Collective.
As a professional chef with three years of experience at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Kulinski stepped into the owner role with a multitude of ideas. She expanded the menu to include items such as the crab roll, which has become a fan favorite. She also added beer, wine and barista drinks, including a “Golden Latte” with a turmeric blend from local herbalist Brittnie Hall at Sister Harvest.
“I’m predominantly pescatarian, so I I kept menu close to heart and full of things I like to eat,” Kulinski said. “I really wanted to showcase what the Sonoma Coast has to offer without having the same things every little spot would have. I believe that when people are here, they must experience our local flavor.”
While many restaurants struggled during the pandemic, Cafe Aquatica thrived, since it has no indoor seating and many local people flocked to the coast to get away.
Kulinski added a food window to facilitate social distancing.
With the exception of April 2020, when basically everything was shuttered, the cafe was open throughout the pandemic and was almost always packed.
“A lot of people were going to the coast because they were avoiding crowded areas,” she said. “They wanted to stay outdoors and sit al fresco. I feel lucky we already had that. The setup helped a lot of people through a time when we couldn’t go to our favorite places or do our normal things.”
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