Café transition is smooth as silk

As Café Delirium closes second location, Silk Espresso opens its third in same spot

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Jan 22, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

Leah McMahon, owner of Silk Espresso, enjoys a fresh cup of java while showing off her café’s logo on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Shannon O. Wells / The Outlook

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If the clamor for coffee before a café opens is any indication, the new location of Silk Espresso in Gresham is destined for success.

One day before opening at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, the door swings open frequently for would-be customers ready for a jolt of java or homemade pastry. When owner Leah McMahon encourages them to come back tomorrow, the slightly crestfallen faces give way to hopeful smiles.

“Based on the foot traffic alone, and the disappointed faces as we turn them away, we will be a welcomed opening,” she said. “I think they’re anxious to get it back open.”

By “back,” McMahon refers to the well-established Gresham business Silk Espresso is replacing at 3030 N.E. Hogan Ave. at College Square. Café Delirium owner Cody Clark recently closed his College Square location to focus on his shop at 308 N. Main Ave., a mainstay in downtown Gresham, McMahon said.

McMahon, 33, plans to continue the tradition of quality, hand-crafted espresso drinks established by Clark’s shop as well as the Silk Espresso locations she operates – a drive-through hut at 401 W. Powell Blvd. and a café in East Hill Church, 701 N. Main Ave. The café also will feature homemade pastries and free wireless Internet, a service that replaces the desktop Internet stations featured at the outgoing cafe.

As much as she enjoyed running the other locations, McMahon has thought about expanding Silk Espresso for some time. Actually, “feeling” is a more apt description for what she experienced.

“I had been looking to grow,” she said. “I felt a nudge inside of me. When you get those nudges, you’ve got to keep your awareness level a little higher.”

While perusing the online marketplace craigslist.com, she came across a “cryptic,” two-sentence posting about a café sale. McMahon was pleasantly surprised when she dialed the number and Clark answered the phone. The two coffee entrepreneurs got together for lunch and worked out a deal.

“We both felt like, OK, this is it,” she said. “(Clark) put a year of hard work into this. He wants it to succeed.”

Inheriting a well-established local business has benefits but also presents challenges.

“The bonus of this location is that the people before have done a great job,” she said. “I hope we can be worthy.”

Rather than remodel a relatively new shop, McMahon concentrated on cosmetic upgrades, such as painting and minor repairs. Most of her energy is channeled into maintaining the quality standards she established with the Powell Boulevard location opened in 2005.

Committed to buying locally, McMahon gets her pastries, including the Silk Signature cheesecake, from Laura Salazar of LaSala Sweets in Portland, who caters exclusively to Silk Espresso. Her coffee comes from Coffeebean International in downtown Portland. She and her baristas brand the Silk logo on each cup with stamps from Gresham-based StampConnection.

“We want to be committed to sustaining what we love about this community,” she said. “Maybe people will want to drive a block or two further” to support a local coffee house.

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