Not your average takeout: Two new cafes open in downtown Fresno’s Bitwise buildings
There’s a new little cafe with a takeout window facing the sidewalk in a Bitwise building in downtown Fresno.
It’s called Contemplate, and though it might not seem like much from the outside – there’s only one dining table outdoors, for example – there’s a lot going on inside.
Like a menu that’s far beyond what you might expect from a takeout window. There’s eggs Benedict with Latin spin, served with chipotle-hollandaise and soy chorizo. There’s also sangria with plenty of fruit and a little cinnamon and ginger beer that’s available to go, and soon, steak.
Contemplate is at the corner of Van Ness Avenue and Mono Street in the Bitwise South Stadium building. It’s been open since this summer, gradually expanding its hours and menu. It replaces the cafe that was there before the COVID-19 pandemic closed it for nearly a year and a half.
And it’s not the only one. Over at Bitwise 41, the company’s other building at Ventura and R streets, a cafe called Soundwaves has opened with coffee, tea and a limited food menu.
Bitwise is a technology company that also rehabs downtown buildings and rents space to software companies and others.
Not everyone is back to work yet at the Bitwise offices. The company is closely watching coronavirus and vaccination numbers and restricting the number of people who can be in the building.
But they wanted to reopen the cafe, said Jennifer Sanderson, Bitwise’s director of food and beverage amenities. (Before the pandemic, the cafe was USBean and Break Bread, and before that Mabel’s Kitchen and Valparaiso Coffee).
“Part of Bitwise’s culture is always to be involved in the community,” she said. “I think getting the cafe back open was a big priority for us.”
The name Contemplate, by the way, was chosen because Bitwise is a place to think and get work done, but also has the second syllable “plate” in it. Soundwaves is a reference to the sound of life and work in Bitwise Co-work, which adjacent to the cafe.
The food and drinks
But back to the food – and the drinks, since Contemplate got its liquor license and can now serve beer and wine.
The cafe serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays, though expanded hours, including dinner, and an expanded menu are coming soon. More outdoor seating is in the works too, and eventually indoor seating.
For now, the takeout food includes breakfast items created by chef Robert Vieira and others like that eggs Benedict, avocado toast and a breakfast crunchwrap made with hashbrowns, egg, cheese and bacon or soy chorizo, all wrapped in a tortilla.
The lunch menu includes a fall salad made with kale, candied pecans and little dollops of piped goat cheese, and vegetarian crispy cauliflower bowl with rice and veggies.
Pastries baked in house are available too.
One popular option? The Bronx Tale sandwich, which the workers compare to charcuterie, but on a sandwich plate. It’s salami, prosciutto, swiss and provolone cheese with a spicy tomato jam on garlic sourdough bread.
That sangria is available to sip there or in to-go bottles.
The cafe also has an expanded coffee and tea menu. They bought a new espresso machine (the “Lamborghini of espresso machines,” the employees call her, and they also named her Sheila).
The cafe will eventually serve dinner (that’s when steak will be available), brunch on weekends and family to-go meals.
A few blocks away, Soundwaves cafe has a similar set up with a takeout window.
It’s got an sizable coffee and tea menu, with a limited food menu of items from Contemplate.
Details: Contemplate is at 700 Van Ness Ave. Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. 559-272-9105. Soundwaves at 2721 Ventura St. and is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
This story was originally published October 18, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
