A4 • Friday, May 28, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
SignalViewpoints
R.J. Marx
Julie Jesse and Krista Howsden of Caff e Latte.
Caff e Latte sold to longtime barista
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
Julie Jesse bought Caff e Latte when she
was 26. Twenty-six years later, she is sell-
ing the iconic downtown Seaside coff ee and
gift shop to her employee, Krista Howsden.
“It’s time to have somebody with a lit-
tle bit more energy and enthusiasm for it,”
Jesse said. “When I fi rst started, I was 26
years old. I had lots of energy, lots of fun
ideas. And I’m, I guess a little bit burnt
out. I’m ready to take what I’ve worked
and built up and pass it on to somebody
younger, with new ideas and new energy.”
Jesse was born and raised in Seaside,
graduating from Seaside High School in
1987. Her father owned the Leggs Broad-
way Pharmacy. “I graduated from high
school, got married, went to Seattle, grad-
uated from the University of Washington,
worked in the coff ee industry in Seattle for
a number of years,” she said. “Then in 1995
we moved back to Seaside.”
The coff ee shop had been open for six
years and on its second owner when Jesse
bought it.
Jesse did well immediately with support
from the community. “I was moving back
into town as a local kid growing up here. I
had a lot of support from people that knew
me coming in.”
She switched coff ees and added mer-
chandise. “I changed the idea that there
were no gift items. There were no coff ee
mugs, no aprons, no dish towels, there was
nothing. They only made coff ee.”
Jesse said the key to her success is con-
sistency in hours, with Caff e Latte open
seven days a week except for Thanksgiving
and Christmas. “We’ve always opened at
8 a.m.,” she said. “Every day, seven days a
week, regardless of the time of year, locals
always know they can come in and we’re
here.”
Visitors often return every year, what she
calls her “regular out-of-towners.”
Howsden has been working with Jesse
on and off since 2005, when she was 19.
A 2004 graduate of Seaside High School,
Caff e Latte’s new owner has lived in town
since age 5.
She worked at a few other places, but
kept returning to Caff e Latte. Even though
she left Seaside for a while, when she
returned, her job was waiting. “This is my
fourth time back, I believe,” Howsden said.
The mall “just feels kind of like home,”
Howsden said. “I was calling it ‘my com-
fort zone’ for a long time. It’s a good spot.”
Howsden, who has three children,
doesn’t plan many changes, and will con-
tinue to sell beverages, coff ee mugs and
kitchen items.
“We have chopsticks for children,” she
said. “We have scoops for your dog. ... We
have a little section of kitcheny things for
your dog. But as far as the big picture, I’m
going to keep it fairly the same.”
Howsden will continue to be assisted
by manager Alex Blackston, who has been
with Caff e Latte for six years.
“I’ve been super blessed having Krista
and Alex,” Jesse said, adding she will con-
tinue to mentor them through the process.
Jesse plans to spend more time at her
Avenue S self-storage business and in her
home garden.
She is chair of the advisory council at
Providence Seaside Hospital and serves on
the Oregon Community Ministry Board for
Providence for the Oregon region.
“I love Seaside,” Jesse said. “I was born
and raised here. So my heart’s always been
here. And I thank everybody for the sup-
port. I think it’s a great community and I’ve
been happy to be involved in it.”
She said she hopes to continue to stay
involved. “And I hope that everyone will
support Krista, in the manner that they’ve
supported me,” she said.
“I’m happy and excited and hopeful,”
Howsden said. “And I hope things continue
going as they’ve been going over the past
26 years.”
Gearhart Mayor Cockrum remembers Berg
By PAULINA COCKRUM
For Seaside Signal
It is with a heavy heart that I write this
post. I learned yesterday that our dear friend
Bill Berg died suddenly in a Portland hospi-
tal after several weeks of illness.
Bill leaves his lovely wife Mami and
stepson Shota as well as his brother Tom
Berg from Ohio.
Bill was a long time friend to myself and
my family.
I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his
oft-ready wise counsel to me in all things
Gearhart over the years.
Here is a bit of his history in Gearhart:
He lived in Gearhart for 46 years and, as
soon as he arrived, he started working for
Gearhart. In 1976, Bill was elected pres-
ident of the Gearhart Homeowners Asso-
ciation, and subsequently he served on the
Gearhart Planning Commission, then the
city council, and on the Historic Landmarks
Commission. He drafted the fi nal 1978 text
of the original Gearhart comprehensive
plan. Also in 1978, he successfully applied
for grants to complete an award-winning
solar retrofi t to the Gearhart fi rehouse.
His career as a professor took him to
R.J. Marx
Tonga in 1989 where he taught Classi-
cal Civilization and American Literature Author and longtime Gearhart resident Bill Berg with a Victrola at the Gearhart fi rehouse at the city’s centennial celebration.
at ’Atenisi Institute. It was there he met
Mami. Years later he returned to Gearhart it was designed to be a place of quiet and ney through Gearhart politics. As recently longtime friendship of his fellow friends of
and took up a position on the Gearhart Plan- tranquility nestled between the trees of the as last week sent me an email that said, dear old Gearhart.
No decision has been made at this time
ning Commission.
North Coast and the Pacifi c ocean and a “Glad you’re glancing at AMFOG now and
He wrote about Gearhart’s history in summer place for second homeowners.
then. Important constituency, many voters. with regards to a memorial service. Remem-
Gearhart Remembered, published by the
The comprehensive plan for Gearhart Give ‘em a “Hi” sign or a thumbs up once brances may be sent the city of Gearhart
Gearhart Homeowners Association in 2001 that he helped craft, continues to guide the in a while, and they’ll love you. Ignore the for the children’s playground equipment,
a project Bill refl ected to Mami as “a good
and a second edition in 2013. It tells about City Council in decision making. Bill has mean-spirited.”
how Gearhart came into being and why been a trusted adviser to me in my jour-
Finally, Mami is grateful that Bill had the idea.”
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies for latest meeting informa-
tion and attendance guidelines.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2
MONDAY, JUNE 8
MONDAY, JUNE 14
Gearhart City Council, 6 p.m., work session,
cityofgearhart.com.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us.
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
Seaside Signal
Letter policy
Subscriptions
The Seaside Signal
is published every other week by
EO Media Group,
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138.
503-738-5561
seasidesignal.com
Copyright © 2021 Seaside Signal. Nothing
can be reprinted or copied without consent
of the owners.
The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The
deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters
must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the
author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We
also request that submissions be limited to one letter
per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR
97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to
503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com
Annually: $51.00, monthly autopay is $4.25
e-Edition only: $4 a month
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside
Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at
Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces.
Copyright © 2021 by the Seaside Signal. No portion
of this newspaper may be reproduced without written
permission. All rights reserved.