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Wickham rocks the Porch
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Anonymous user Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:30:44 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Solo artist Phil Wickham played to a packed house for the grand opening of Solomon’s Porch in the Southwest on Sept. 1.
Wickham played originals as well as contemporary worship favorites that got everyone singing along at the free concert.
“This is a huge weekend for us,” said Solomon’s Porch community relations director Rusty Kuhns.
Solomon’s Porch is located on Calvary Chapel Westbrook’s campus on the Southwest corner of Schirra Court and  Ashe Road, one block south of White Lane. It boasts a coffee house, book store and gourmet café.
The grand opening weekend also included music sets by Sam Ortega and Daniel Sisco, followed by Jeff Searlas at the church’s Remnant service Sunday evening.
“It’s been the desire and heart of our church for many years to open this coffee house and we are so blessed to be able to open our doors to people,” said Pastor Dave Lomas of Calvary Chapel  Westbrook.
In fact, Lomas researched church history and found that plans for a coffee house and café were originally on the books back in 1985 when the church moved to the campus. In 1994, the church began a Saturday night concert series called Solomon’s Porch where they would also serve coffee and desserts. The name stuck and after many years in the planning stages, the grand opening went off without a hitch.
The coffeehouse serves Santa Barbara Roasting Company coffee, and baristas have been trained by the company. Coffee beans are freshly ground and delivered on a weekly basis. The bookstore offers a wide range of apparel, music and books. There is even a LiveScan fingerprinting station located inside.
Naomi Chow is the driving force behind the café portion of Solomon’s Porch. Chow has over 40 years experience in the food business, including training future gourmet chefs at a culinary academy restaurant on Buck Owens Boulevard.
The café at Solomon’s Porch serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food ranges from Mexican to Mediterranean to American cuisine. On the breakfast end there is everything from breakfast burritos to Belgian waffles and fruit crepes. For your midday and evening meals there are paninis, tacos, barbecue, personal pizzas and more. Save room for dessert because there are always plenty of sweet baked goods.
“The overall mission was that we saw a need in the business community here and we wanted to meet that need,” said Kuhns.
Ashe Road has become a main artery in recent years with housing developments increasing in the area. There is a lot of traffic that goes by Solomon’s Porch and the staff hopes people will stop by. It is conveniently located among many Southwest businesses and is one of the only places of its kind in the area.

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