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| bohemeo's East End's first music and art coffee house, providing a sweet treat to its' community in more ways than one. Offering desserts, quality drink setups. One can relax in a colorful, yet laid back atmosphere and enjoy the artwork and live music playing several nights a week. Built and run by Lupe and Sidonie Olivarez, it is founded on their backgrounds of art, music, and theater. bohemeo's is located just 2 miles south of downtown 708 Telephone Rd. inside the Tlaquepaque Plaza. Coming south on I 45 from DT, take the Cullen exit, turn left on to Cullen, go to Leeland, take a right. After crossing Lockwood take a right onto Tlaquepaque Plaza....go thru the arch way and your here!!!! If your coming north on I 45 take the Elgin/Lockwood exit, take a right on Lockwood, before you cross Leeland/Telephone, take a right into The Plaza...you'll know when you see the big pink outdoor stage!!! |
Houston Chronicle
Dec. 30, 2006, 11:50AM
Place for 'music, art, coffee' in East End
Area artists, students, families find a cozy retreat at community cafe
By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
WHERE IT'S AT
•Bohemeo's is tucked in the back corner of a shopping center at 708 Telephone Road.
•For more information, go to www.bohemeos.com
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
East End residents and neighborhood artists Lupe and Sidonie Olivarez got tired of driving to other parts of the city to find a
comfortable retreat in an artsy coffee house, so they decided to open their own.
Bohemeo's, with its bright orange and pink facade and sign that says "music, art, coffee" is a new business twist in a neighborhood
where those three elements haven't traditionally mixed.
"I wanted this to be an island, a headquarters for artists in this part of town," said Lupe Olivarez, 47.
Since it opened, the cafe — which has indoor and outdoor stages, wireless Internet, a patio area and original art hanging from the
walls — has been "a lot of things to a lot of different people at different times of the day."
A place to stop by
Older, longtime area residents of the predominantly Mexican and Mexican-Amer- ican neighborhood have ventured in to enjoy an
afternoon coffee.
And Austin High School students sometimes stop by after school to play cards and eat a snack.
Students from Texas Southern University have also held poetry readings there and an acid jazz group has taken the stage on
several occasions.
"It feels very familiar," said Mary Helen Rivera, a Heights resident who on a recent Saturday night listened to a cover band playing
country and Latin music. "It's family-oriented, like a place where you can come and enjoy and feel so relaxed."
Martin Gamboa has lived in the East End for more than 40 years and said the cafe is good for the community because it's a place
where parents can take their children, and it's a "family structured and supported venue."
Aside from coffee, espresso drinks and decadent desserts,
"It's definitely very urban in its feel, but it has an earthiness to it," said Sidonie Olivarez, 48.
The small business was put together in the bohemian way, on a shoestring budget.
Sidonie, or Sid, and a family member made the tile-top tables in the cafe with donated tiles.
The curtains are from a dollar store, the walls painted by friends during a painting party, and a few of Sid's paintings are on display.
"Outside of a taqueria, a Jack-in-the-Box or a cantina, there's nothing" like this in the area, said Lupe, a longtime musician.
'The last frontier'
Sidonie Olivarez, who grew up near the Heights, said "all the poor artists were forced to this area" because other parts of Houston
became too expensive.
"Eastwood and the East End has the last hope for artists."
The couple moved to the area a dozen years ago because it was affordable at the time.
They've seen it grow into one of Houston's fastest redeveloping communities — with townhomes sprouting up in the near-downtown
area and ever-increasing property taxes — and consider it "the last frontier in Houston, in the inner city," Lupe said.
Plenty of area artists have stopped by — inquiring about having their art displayed or playing a gig.
Others just say they're happy the cafe is there, and want to support it.
Operating the small business is still a day-to-day struggle for the Olivarezes, but they eventually hope to open up a kitchen that
serves healthful fare.
cynthia.garza@chron.com
