Grab the 
Over the past 20 years, Eastwick has searched Silicon Valley high and low for inspirational technology innovations. It’s the core of who we are. The culture in the Valley is decidedly tech driven, but beyond the social networks and smartphone buzz there’s an intangible element of passion floating in the air. Innovation goes beyond IT and startups, finding its way into the staples (or should I say vices?) of our daily lives. From coffee to ice cream, locals are taking the old tried and trues of every day, and injecting new life into them.
This year, we want to take the opportunity to recognize a few of these innovations taking place outside of the tech world – and better yet, bring them to our clients.
In early 2009, brothers Jerad and Justin Morrison abandoned their posts at the famed Blue Bottle Coffee and esteemed Four Barrel Coffee to fire up a roast of their own: Sightglass Coffee. Tucked behind a nondescript garage door in SF’s “transitional” 7th and Folsom neighborhood lies a 1924-built 4,000 square foot space with 25 foot ceilings. The brothers are in the process of building out their shop, scheduled to open in early 2011. When complete, the space will offer a coffee bar, two floors of seating, and a big, open roastery. One thing Sightglass won’t feature? WiFi. According to Jerad, they aren’t aiming to blend into SF’s browse-while-you-sip coffee scene – Sightglass should be an experience, not a destination. From the 14-kilo Probat roaster to the nearly one-of-a-kind Slayer espresso machine, Sightglass is all about the coffee.
Meanwhile, a few miles down the road in the Mission district, Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream has rooted itself in nearly every “Best in SF” list, for good reason. Since 2008, Jake Godby has been whipping up bizarre and surprisingly delectable ice cream flavors in his shop, where they offer up to 16 flavors a day. From bourbon ice cream mixed with caramelized corn flakes (Secret Breakfast) to prosciutto infused scoops, Godby isn’t afraid of funky flavors that include things like olive oil, booze, salt and meat.
After abandoning his post as pastry chef at an upscale SF restaurant, Godby took to his ice cream lab and has since created over 100 flavors. We don’t think it’s wrong to call Godby an artist, and the store’s operations lead Sean Vahey agrees. “He’s wielding his paintbrush in ice cream, but Jake would never tell you that.” Regardless of the artistic merits of Godby’s craft, I think we can all agree that it feels pretty great to finally have “ice cream for adults.”
It’s been a pleasure working with the Sightglass and Humphry Slocombe teams to bring some holiday cheer to our clients and friends this year. We love celebrating innovation, whether it’s in the technology that fuels the valley or the treats that make the hard work worth it. Happy holidays. Here’s to 2011 and whatever innovations it may bring!
Images via Sightglass Coffee and The Selby.
