Coffee house ride venue closes

Art-of-Java Coffee Cafe closed its doors at approximately 3 p.m. today for the last time. It served as north-central San Antonio's starting point for several cycling groups including Britton's Bike Shop, Solid Rock Riders, and individual riders since Sept. 2011. Cyclists started their 10 to 15-mile rides from the shop that trailed through the rolling hills of Hollywood Park and Hill Country Village. Shop owner Michael Sanders, an avid cyclist himself, made the decision to close it due to assuming other business-related interests in San Antonio. Mr. Sanders is a UT graduate with an electrical engineering background.

The cafe was located in the Park Oaks Centre on Thousand Oaks at U.S. 281. It served specialty drinks including the Canadian Maple Leaf latte and panini sandwiches. Various artists and photographers displayed their works on a wall designated for that purpose. Various musicians played at the venue on a regular basis. One the most recent was La Jeder, a Norwegian-American group who performed at Art-of-Java on Jan. 21, 1013 on its Ode to Olga U.S. tour.

Riders leave out from Art-of-Java