Posted by Sophia's is great, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Oct 31, 2008 at 2:28 pm

If you want to support the independent coffee shops, I can thoroughly recommend Sophia's Coffee Shop just down the street on the other side.

Posted by Bruce, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on Oct 31, 2008 at 2:55 pm

It's hard (impossible?)for independents to survive the likes of Peets and Starbucks unless they get very creative in using both their space for local clients and cyberspace for capturing virtual clients. Otherwise the rent alone could put them out of biz these days.

That said, I enjoyed stopping by La Creme de Cafe from time to time over the past 10 years or so. Was there anything extraordinary about it? Most of the time when I visited, it was to have some caffeine, do some work email using their Wi-fi connection. They were very nice in resetting the router when I had difficulty getting connected (almost every time I visited). I wish the owners and employees all the best in their future endeavors. It's sad when any local hangout closes its doors.

Posted by Occasional customer, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Oct 31, 2008 at 3:03 pm

It's gone!! What a shame.

I'll admit I don't use it often, but it has a couple of things going for it that the others don't have. Firstly, I love sitting outside under the vines and forgetting that I am here in Palo Alto but feel like I am in the Mediterranean somewhere. Secondly, buying lunch to go with the coffee from the Deli - my favorite being the curried chicken salad which you can't get anywhere else - and sitting under the vines pretending I am on the Med. Thirdly, I like getting my coffee in a mug rather than a cheap paper container and pretending I am on vacation on the Med. Fourth, I prefer their coffee to all the chains. So, if I don't make my own coffee at home, I like to go to Creme and I like to sit under the vines and pretend I am not in Palo Alto, but I think I said that already.

Posted by Half-Caf, Nonfat Latte, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Oct 31, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Don't ring the death knoll yet, I'm not certain of anything, other than that it's not been open the last three days. The note on the door doesn't say anything other than :"sorry, we're closed). . . Was hoping someone on here might have the inside scoop.

Posted by mary s, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 1, 2008 at 5:46 am

Nice cafe, friendly staff.

The only thing that bothered me was the young people smoking dope regularly sitting under the vines pretending they are on the Med, Morocco presumably, but not a good example for school kids passing bye.

I am not fanatical about people smoking grass but it should not be permitted in public. I am sure the owners and staff had nothing to do with this, it was just a tiny minority of the people hanging out there.

I hope it opens again soon, without the dope scene "under the vines".

Posted by Carolyn, a resident of another community, on Nov 1, 2008 at 6:37 am

I still haven't found coffee as good and still miss the place, and the town it's in of course, after having been back in Jersey for two years.