The new coffee house and eatery in the shopping center at the corner of Clark and Bradley in Orcutt is more than a coffee shop.
For 6 Degrees co-owners Starr Hall Egan and her husband, Jude, first and foremost, it is a place for locals to gather.
“We moved here, and we thought, this is such a great community! ‘Where is everyone going? Where’s the gathering place here?’ San Luis Obispo has them. Santa Barbara has them,” Egan said.
So they wondered, “What if we do a coffee house?”
The name, 6 Degrees, is a nod to the notion that we are all just six introductions (or fewer) away from meeting anyone else in the world.
“For us, we want to bring it home into the community. There are so many amazing artists and musicians and people that we want to connect together. That’s where the name came from. It’s about collaboration here,” Egan said. “6 Degrees is about relationships, it’s about meeting people you don’t know that could possibly add
to or change your life in a positive way.”
When the doors opened in mid-July, a dramatic renovation was unveiled—an eclectic and appealing loft-like space full of modern art, designed to connect local residents over quality food and drink.
Customers are also encouraged to bring along their laptop computers to take advantage of the free, high speed Wi-Fi.
Chef consultants David Marks, sous chef at Ember restaurant in Arroyo Grande, and Emily Phenicie developed the menu and trained the staff.
The coffee house recently brought on executive chef Brooke Stockwell, who will expand the menu and work her magic in the kitchen starting in early August.
At any time of day, 6 Degrees serves up delicious and healthful food.
In the morning, the emphasis with the “sunrise” menu is on light, fresh protein.
Inspired by a Berkeley coffee house that has perfected the poached egg, 6 Degrees serves their eggs a couple of different ways: The Spanish Poach—my favorite—is black beans, salsa, avocado, queso fresco, and a poached egg ($9); and the flavorful Croque Americano sandwich, which is ham, bacon, Gruyère, and whole grain mustard on grilled sourdough is served next to a poached egg and a small fresh salad ($10).
“Everything is from a local farmers’ market; house salsa is made here; the eggs are farm fresh, organic; the avocados are organic,”
Egan added.
The “high noon” menu offers a chopped salad, a quinoa and avocado tabbouleh dish, and sandwiches: grilled cheese, turkey and pesto, curry chicken, and pulled pork.
The “sunset” dinner menu started with light tapas, but new entrees are being added all the time.
In-house baker, Vanessa Stricklin, and pastry chef consultant Whitnie Burke create fabulous banana muffins, cinnamon rolls, macarons, and vegan chocolate cake. Plus their Hungarian shortbread with strawberry puree is nothing short of perfection.
Egan credits her passionate and loyal team at 6 Degrees for their early success. She singled out dedicated manager, Johnna Luney, and talented lead barista, Jeremy Tate, two of her first hires.
Tate worked in Alaska before returning home to the Central Coast. “We’re happy to have a place to enjoy coffee or a beer and amazing food,” he told me.
The Orcutt Mocha, made with Ibarra chocolate and Ghirardelli cocoa powder, is one of the most popular coffees thus far.
But Tate really likes the 6 Degrees cold brew.
“We brew it for 24 hours so it actually cuts the acid out. It’s easier on the stomach, but it has all that coffee flavor in an iced coffee, but it keeps that caffeine content up,” he said.
6 Degrees has a rich “house syrup” made with sugar-cane-based turbinado sugar that may be added to any coffee drink.
“It actually builds this caramel flavor,” Tate said. “It makes it so deep and so dark. It’s so good!”
All the high quality coffee products at 6 Degrees are sourced from Verve Coffee Roasters of Santa Cruz.
The coffee house’s tea supplier is Los Angeles-based Art of Tea, offering hand-blended herbal teas with delicate, interesting flavors.
The international-based wine list was inspired by the Egans’ travels around the world. There are a few local wines, including Casa Dumetz. Egan hopes to expand the list as she connects with more local, boutique winemakers. Brews by Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. and Firestone-Walker are among the craft beers available.
Opening 6 Degrees was an enormous undertaking; the Egans’ dream was almost dashed by an unscrupulous contractor. The couple credits the community for getting them through extremely challenging times the past year.
“It brings tears to my eyes. I get emotional,” Egan shared as she looked out into her beautiful, now-open coffee house bustling with happy customers.
“We had someone in yesterday, a customer who lost her husband a week ago, she said, ‘You guys get me out of bed every day.’ She said, ‘This place is getting me through my grief.’ And when you hear that, it’s life changing! I can’t put it into words. From day one it’s been about the community, and I feel like we’re doing it!”
The 6 Degrees coffee house is located at 4869 S. Bradley Rd., Suite 118, Orcutt, in the Acorn Plaza near Fresh & Easy. The phone number is 314-2125. The website is 6degreesorcutt.com. Hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Don’t miss Wine & Fire
Set your calendars for Wine & Fire, a special wine weekend sponsored by the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance, from Aug. 14 through 16. Three unique events showcase the region’s excellent wines and a variety of local BBQ cuisine. The Aug. 15 grand tasting is held on the grounds of La Purisima Mission in Lompoc. Go to staritahills.com for more information and tickets.
Sun wine and food columnist Wendy Thies Sell enjoys connecting her readers with excellent local food and drink. Connect with her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 6-13, 2015.