Mosaic Coffee 

A Place to Be

I moved to Seattle from across the country, pregnant, working from home and with very few connections. I recall the distinct longing for having somewhere to just be. Wandering Wallingford, I discovered what felt like a hidden gem in Mosaic Coffee House. Of course you all had known Mosaic for years, but it was so warm and welcoming that I felt self-congratulatory in my discovery, sipping black tea and watching the neighborhood sink into seats one by one.

Mosaic has now served it’s last cup. Following two years of shuttered doors, due to both the pandemic and flooding, the operator (a pastor, turned barista) and his family move to Vancouver. As this coffee house formally closes, it leaves a residue…a legacy here in Wallingford.

Mosaic Coffee opened its doors in March of 2007, but the seed was planted years before that in 2003, when Mark Woodward moved to Wallingford to become the Pastor of Seattle First Church. He was looking for a way to connect with the community – the whole community, including those who didn’t need or want to go to church. The Wallingford community was economically diverse, even back then, and was comprised of people who could afford to purchase homes in the area, people who rented apartments and people who were not in a home at all. Mark and the church were looking for a way to engage the whole neighborhood — together.

Pay What is Fair

With this vision, the Mosaic Coffee House was born, in the 500-square foot church basement. Tim and Bree Smith moved to Seattle in 2006 and got to work, leveraging church volunteers, neighbors and Christa, Mark’s wife to convert the basement space into a bonified coffee shop. For 13 years, this coffee house ensured that anyone could come in for a snack and a hot beverage and have a place to – just be.  The system was to pay what you thought was fair and, if you were so inclined, to pay a bit extra to buy a token so that others could get something to eat and drink. Mark is so proud that for all those years, this system worked! Mosaic was special because everyone was truly welcome. Homeless people are usually only invited to places that are exclusively for homeless people. It is very rare to see someone from a tent community come in for a croissant and a mocha at the same place moms go to play with their kids. This was complicated at times – “It was a dance”, Mark admitted. He told me pridefully of community members who had been surviving only by holding a cardboard sign on 45th street, who started volunteering at Mosaic by cleaning tables, then doing dishes, then working as a barista. He spoke of a man who gained skills and confidence — securing a job at Amazon. He spoke of another man who is now a registered nurse. Mark says he never would have gotten to truly know these neighbors as the pastor of the church the same way he did as the barista.

Half-Cups

Mosaic had a truly epic kid’s space called Demitasse (Half-cup in Italian), making it a respite for parents and nannies, especially during the rainy months.  It was a gathering space for many community organizations from the Seattle Pipers to the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association, who met there for 20 years.

I asked Mark to share a favorite story from Mosaic and he told me about a time a local dog was shot with an arrow and died. People reached out to him to hold a community vigil. While Mark was sorry to hear of the fate that befell this poor dog, he was delighted that someone thought “ Hey, I bet they would care and let us do this…”.

A Legacy of Giving

He hopes that Mosaic will leave a legacy of giving – A community of faith tried to do something just for the community. It wasn’t a church recruitment endeavor. They just wanted to be good neighbors and good friends. He hopes they left a good taste in people’s mouth.

The Future?

As for what’s next for the space, like so many things in the Wallyhood, that remains unclear. The church still owns the building. They could sell it to another church, turn it into a preschool, it could get knocked down and developed, or they could they help provide affordable housing facilitated by the church.

We lift a cup to Mark and all the volunteers. Thank you for leaving such a good taste in our mouths all these years.