Alba

Oh man, I still remember when this place was Astro Coffee.

RIP.

But no need to mourn too hard. Alba fills the space pretty well.

The room has that real coffee-shop DNA. Big front-window seating, tucked-away spots in the back, plants doing their thing, little gifts along the wall, baked goods, treats, drinks — all the pieces you want when you walk into a place built around coffee and community.

They clearly care about the coffee too. Locally roasted espresso, rotating roasters, and that “come in, sit down, talk to somebody, stay a while” kind of energy.

The no-WiFi situation, though? Ouch. For a coffee shop, that one hurts.

And I’ve got to be honest — when I walked up to order, both baristas were deep in conversation, and it had a little “you can wait until we’re done” energy. Not the best first impression, especially before caffeine has entered the bloodstream.

But the space is nice, the weather was good, and I wasn’t going to let it ruin the stop.

They had plenty of baked goods, and I heard good things about the egg sandwich. Unfortunately, I saw brioche bun and immediately knew that was going to be a no for me, dog.

Now, the restrooms.

They have two private unisex restrooms tucked away in the back. Strong privacy, clean, spacious, and relatively accessible from either the front or back entrance. ♿️

I hate those jet-engine hand dryers, but thankfully they also offered paper towels, so we’re good there.

Overall, solid Shooki.

Alba lands at a 7/10.