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The café, conspicuously French-inspired on its facade at the corner of Marin and Moschetti gets obvious pleasure from clients’ positive
Florida streets, launched in early October with an ornate front door that opens to reaction to the dishes they try at the café like: ratatouille,
reveal a simple, nicely appointed space featuring an elegant, antique, wood-and- a vegetarian stew, a pistou soup with basil, and a beef
glass bar. Described as “casual but classy, and meant to make people feel welcome,” stew called Daube de Boeuf, among others.
Moschetti Café’s interior seating area features a highly polished, light-wood group
Ooh la latte table along with a number of smaller tables and chairs. Local artists’ work is displayed “It’s fun. It’s in my genes or something,” he said. “Food
on one wall, while another features a flat-screen TV, and there’s an outdoor seating
is like a relationship. All the dishes have stories.”
area where dogs are welcome.
Offering various types of coffee drinks—with beans selected and roasted by Moschetti
at his Vallejo facility, as he has done for some 20 years—is a mainstay of the café,
though it is by no means its only offering.

Taking a cue from Paula, his wife of 16 years and a 30-year veteran vintner with
Napa’s Frog’s Leap Winery, Moschetti offers free coffee tasting on Saturdays at his
6th Street roasting facility. The couple said they plan to offer beer and wines that
Paula Moschetti helps produce, “maybe even a special blend for the café,” along with
the coffee and food items.
Paris and Napa meet in Vallejo The couple has lived in Napa since 1989 with their children, Marco (11) and Juliette

(15), and the coffee roasting operation also started there in 1990, later moving to
at new French-inspired café Vallejo in 1993. As time goes on, Moschetti says that he hopes to add
even more French flavor to the café, not just in terms
“I always wanted to venture into retail,” Fabrice Moschetti said. “I love the machinery, of food.
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen and it’s fun working with the big machines roasting the coffee, but there’s little contact
with the end consumer. So, I always wanted to meet the customers. And the people “French music, movies,” he said. “My grandparents had
at the coffee tasting were always asking us to open something.” no TV or even radio, so they played music on a barrel
organ. So, I bought one from France, as a gift to myself.
So, when the manager of the property at the corner of Florida and Marin mentioned Maybe we’ll do sing-alongs.”
in 2017 that it was available, Moschetti jumped at the opportunity.
Paula, a Sonoma wine country native who earned her
The recipes used for the soups, sandwiches, quiches, pastries, frittatas, and other food science degree from UC Davis, said she’s impressed
dishes offered at the café are Fabrice Moschetti’s, the couple said. The coffee is with the café.
strictly kosher, free trade and certified organic, and they use fresh, locally sourced
ingredients whenever possible, Fabrice said, pointing especially to the dairy products, “The Saturday coffee tastings are a great place to
which come from the Straus Family Creamery in Petaluma. showcase art, and this brings that vibe and energy to
the weekday,” she said. “We met and fell in love in Napa,
“These are my family recipes,” Fabrice said. “My mom’s from the north of France and and we live there,” Paula said. “It’s a symbol of good
my father’s from Nice, so, there are longstanding arguments, even after 57 years of taste—culinary arts, wine…”
positive consequence of the opening of Moschetti Café at 925 Marin a large Moschetti cup in front of them. marriage, in the family over style—should we use butter or olive oil—things like that.”
Street in Vallejo: it has increased downtown foot traffic from their “And we wanted to add that to Vallejo’s reputation for
longtime customers. Kristyn Reano of Vallejo said she frequents the café with good coffee,” Fabrice said, smiling. “For us, Napa is
friends, “from time to time.” home, but so is Vallejo. We have a lot invested here; we
“It’s helping the neighborhood,” said barista Cindy Avalos of own property here. I even lived here for a while. We love
Vallejo from behind the café’s gorgeously restored antique bar. “It’s a nice place to go downtown,” she said. Vallejo. And this is something Vallejo needs. We have
More people coming down to frequent the café means a more great weather here, a beautiful waterfront, a thriving art
positive and friendly vibe felt in the area. While it took nearly two years for France native and community, and we’re showcasing that here. We know
Vallejo’s longtime artisan coffee roaster Fabrice wine; we know food, and we’re sharing our experience
Another consequence—this one expected—is the addition of Moschetti, and veteran Vallejo building and business with that along with our family’s heritage.”
a great place to eat, drink, and engage in conversation in the city’s center. owner Buck Kamphausen, to bring the site into
compliance with all city and Solano County regulations,
“It brings people downtown,” Avalos said. “It’s a nice atmosphere: warm and many of those who eagerly anticipated its opening say Rachel Raskin-Zrihen is a Vallejo-
cozy. And we have a diverse clientele—a little bit of everybody. I believe it’s that it was worth the wait. based, award-winning, veteran
helping the neighborhood.” journalist, columnist and author;
The often frustrating and expensive process wound up a wife and the mother of two grown
This last comment seems to be borne out by who was filling tables during a random creating what is likely one of the city’s best-outfitted sons, and mother-in-law to two grown
visit on a recent late morning, when a man was working on a laptop and talking on eateries. daughters-in-law, presently working
to wrap her head around the idea of
the phone, and a group appeared to be conducting some kind of meeting. Each had eventual grandmother-hood.

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