Café Noir Preserves East Village Charm

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With so many trendy new bars, restaurants, and boutiques cropping up, it's nice to know there are people in the East Village dedicated to preserving San Diego vintage charm.

Sleek modern design may dominate San Diego's developing skyline, but it's the preserved historical houses that really make the East Village a truly unique place to be.

Tucked away between J Street and Market on 9th Avenue, a small, wooden two story house stands amid a field of steel and glass. In context, the all-black Victorian house certainly looks like an oddity against the familiar backdrop of luxury high-rise condos. As more and more Village frequenters are discovering, this is one oddity worth investigating.

While Café Noir may be only two stories tall, it is at least a hundred stories deep.

Previously owned by five generations of Japanese families until the internment camps of World War II, the historical Hiatt House is now preserved by Gloria Poore, who has transformed the historical residence into a café as eclectic as its customers. Looking around, subtle Asian designs serve as homage to the generations of Japanese families who once owned the house. "You can only imagine all the people that have gone up those stairs," says Dunham of the house's past. "You feel history embrace you when you step in the door."

An open lounge takes up the upstairs floor - with authentic vintage furniture that Gloria herself has collected, and mellow cornflower blue walls. One can hardly believe entire families lived in the space now filled with customers clutching brimming coffee cups.

After years of working to establish a formal art district in the area once filled with low-rent warehouses, Gloria has had influence that outlasts any new development. Admiring the run-down district's ability to transform huge warehouses into habitable spaces for artists, Poore envisioned the area becoming a haunt for local creative types. Attending city planning meetings and speaking up for her vision, Poore spent years trying to influence the East Village's development in that direction.

When asked to draft the city's Live/Work Ordinance, Gloria knew attending all those city meetings were worth it. When the PETCO Park entertainment zoning line excluded her property, Poore knew she had proved herself and her building a vital part of the community. Although Poore's exact image of an artist's haven has yet to be realized, she still pursues a creative flair through her coffee house, as Café Noir features the work of local artists which hang all over the shop's bold red walls.

"I never fought the ballpark plans." Gloria says, "You can't fight a tidal wave. You have to ride it."

Its two story stature may be dwarfed by the new eight to ten story high rises it shares along 9th Avenue but Café Noir stands apart as a rich source of style and San Diego history.

Poore described the stick east-lake style Victorian house as a "shack" when she first became owner and took years to reinvent. Poore is a licensed general contractor and has called Café Noir a "labor of love" doing most of the renovations herself.

Taking over management are Darla Dunham, who has fifteen years of restaurant experience and Tootie, who can be seen impersonating Cher at LIPS, the infamous drag diner where she is general manager and MC. Poore, who lives in a converted warehouse behind the café, still remains involved, opening her backyard to the Cafe's guests.

Coffee isn't the only treat Café Noir serves, but boasts a growing menu of hearty, gourmet meals like vegetarian curry and rice soup as well as cookies and other desserts. The café makes everything from scratch, offering only top quality ingredients. They even have a two dollar beer special which you can enjoy on the patio deck, especially during baseball season, considering PETCO Park is only a half block away.

Cafe Noir is open from 6am to 9pm every single day to ensure excellent and consistent service.

Café Noir
447 9th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
619.235.0075