Offerman House, historic Redwood City property, turns into neighborhood cafe

The Yard, located at 1018 Main St., currently operates out of the quaint Carriage House and serves a variety of espresso based beverages, tea and pastries, inviting guests to enjoy their refreshments in the courtyard. 

Customers are warmly greeted by the baristas and staff, including partners Carmen Galindo and J.J. Venable who, literally, work in their backyard. Venable, who is the main barista, has worked with Operating Manager Chris Sakelarios before, and he’s not the only one to return. 

When owner and Redwood City resident John Feig coincidently met Sakelarios at a child’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, they quickly bonded over their shared interest in coffee and community. At the time, Sakelarios was operating a coffee cart out of her home. 

Despite the “trek out” necessitated to get to her place of residence, Feig said the street would be crowded by past patrons and employees of Sakelarios’ former community-centric cafe Back Yard Coffee, which closed in 2018. 

“Who does that,” Feig said. “Who goes and hangs out with their former boss for the day, just because? I knew there was something special about [Sakelarios].” 

Lexi Romanowsky, a San Carlos resident, said she has fond memories of frequenting the historic property when it hosted Alana’s Cafe before closing amid the pandemic. Just a couple weeks into being a barista at The Yard, she said the community element is prevalent.  

“[Sakelarios] becomes friends with everybody, it’s amazing,” Romanowsky said. “Random guests will come in and she’ll introduce them and sometimes they’re her friends that she knew previously, and you can never know the difference.” 

For Sakelarios, Redwood City has always been home and she has dedicated herself to “quietly” being very involved in the city. 

“It’s such a beautiful place,” she said. “I represented the U.S. in track and field and so I’ve raced all over the world, and there’s just something about your hometown, being familiar with the places, the people.” 

While the cafe operates to-go orders out of the “casita,” Feig and Sakelarios await permits to operate out of the main building which already contains touches of the community within the space. A teacup chandelier honoring Redwood City residents hangs in the sunroom and repurposed furniture from closed businesses nearby fill the main seating area. 

With aspirations for nights filled with live music and a room soundproofed for karaoke, the team plans to also serve beer, wine, cocktails and mocktails. Sakelarios also hopes to host small women-owned businesses making specialized foods for sale out of the back house. 

Though the coffee can stand alone — beans include a fruit-forward Ethiopian blend, a chocolate noted Guatemalan blend, their Offerman House blend and a medium roast decaf water process blend — Sakelarios hopes The Yard will be an inviting place for anyone to join. 

“I don’t even drink coffee,” she said. “But I know people. My heart is calibrated for kindness so I just gravitate toward people.” 

Feig said he hopes The Yard will provide a physical space for young people in the community to spend their time, much like one he grew up going to in upstate New York. Making the space “all-ages friendly” is a priority of his. 

“Over the pandemic, there was these kids with very little to do,” he said. “So many places that used to be entertainment spots that were going out of business, I think that we need to have more stuff like that.”

The space will be ever evolving, Feig said, and he looks forward to establishing its place in the community. 

“We just have the recognition that it’s going to take us a while to do everything that we’ve been talking about,” Feig said. “But there’s even more stuff, once we get there, eventually.”