By Andy Valencia
It’s been 25 years since sisters Tina and Leslie first opened Cafe Luna. Turtle Island Restaurant, which had shuttered for the final time a year before, provided the location. The ladies asked various Island old-timers about the possibility of an “internet cafe” and, having been assured it would never work, went ahead and opened one. The sisters’ husbands, both having paused their commercial fishing careers to form a contracting firm together, used the conversion of the old restaurant space as a showcase for their skills.
It was a daunting task. The interior had nothing a cafe needed – not even ceiling panels overhead. The sisters and their husbands mounted a heroic effort, managing to open just before the husbands went back to their commercial fishing. But build it they did, and any current customer traveling back in time to that opening day would recognize “their” Luna.
Some of the innovative ideas have long since faded away. When it opened, Luna had a back area where you could rent time on a PC and access the internet. Some of their great ideas just weren’t practical – they hoped to move barista’s shifts around on a regular basis so their job didn’t feel stale. And some of their ideas continue undiminished, such as holding the cafe to the highest standards of cleanliness and tidiness.
And the coffee. A long-time friend of Tina’s, David Narazaki, guided them on all the actual details of a cafe. What machine to buy, coffee beans, how to pull shots, even how to lay out the counter and cash register. This author still remembers that each initial barista was given a copy of the famous book “Espresso: Professional Techniques.”
They started with very long hours – at the time, there was nothing to do in Vashon Town after 6 p.m. With just the two sisters doing it all, burnout became a pressing issue. They relented and hired barista help and trimmed back the cafe’s hours.
Tina and Leslie loved running the cafe and being a resource for the community. But the enormous effort of opening the cafe plus keeping it running had taken its toll. When Tina had her first child, the sisters started looking for somebody to take over the business.
The next owner, Sandy, was already known in the Vashon coffee scene, as she had run the coffee-stand down by the north end ferry dock. One of her early changes at Luna was to remove those rental PC’s, taking down the wall and expanding the seating capacity. A big stainless steel hood, still mounted to the wall where the old restaurant’s cooking grill had been, was finally removed. And the late, great Darryl Caldwell convinced Sandy that Wifi should be available as an amenity to the customers – like napkins.
Sandy also introduced beer and wine. Like her predecessors, she put enormous effort into shaping the cafe. Towards the end of one particular summer, most of her baristas – all high-school age – turned in their notice one after the other as they got ready for the school year. Sandy used all her energy and ingenuity covering the needed cafe hours. Like her predecessors, she had greatly improved Luna, but was running out of physical and emotional energy. Once again, it was time to sell.
Moving onto Vashon is a shock in itself. Moving onto Vashon and taking over Luna was not a combination for the faint of heart! Enter Natalie and Luke. With Natalie’s experience owning a dance supply store and Luke’s background in construction and construction management, they brought an almost perfect combination of skills.
While Natalie left many distinctive changes to Luna, her single biggest was to convert from the slow and unreliable ADSL internet service to the current Comcast one. If you missed the ADSL era of Luna, be assured that you owe her a debt of gratitude! Speed and reliability were a welcome change.
And that new ceiling Tina and Leslie had installed? Roof leaks had water-stained it, driving Natalie crazy until she finally had it entirely replaced. Be sure to look up and admire it – just another of the countless details that make up Luna. Can you find the secret stash of notes?
The years fly by, Heather joined Natalie as an owner, and now it’s been 12 years under Luna’s latest and current owners, Cindy and Carly. As Luna celebrates 2025, its 25th year in operation, this mother/daughter duo have been at the helm for almost half of Luna’s life. Cindy bought the cafe, and immediately brought daughter Carly on to help with the “front” – sales, espresso, smoothies, and everything else you encounter as you make your purchase. While they’re both experienced bakers, Cindy made the “back” her focus, reconfiguring to better support her desire to offer a range of food items freshly baked right on the premises.
One of their early, vivid memories is the time the cafe almost burned down. A compressor up on the roof broke down and caught on fire. When somebody finally got onto the roof, they found a charred ring around the failed unit. It would probably have caused a major roof fire – except that it happened during a rain storm.
What was a compressor doing up on the roof? In the earlier years of Luna, musicians would do shows there in the evening. One refrigerated display case in the cafe had a particularly noisy compressor, annoying both the musicians and their audience. The offending compressor pump was removed from the unit and replumbed to be mounted up on the roof, where it was free to make all the noise it wanted. Ironically, music in the evening was dropped a few years later, but the compressor remained up on the roof, almost forgotten until it burned up.
Live evening music came and went, but from-scratch baking in the back of the cafe has become a defining feature of Luna’s offerings. In the early years of Carly and Cindy’s ownership, fritattas, biscotti, and their packaged cookies immediately became some of their biggest sellers. Seasonal soups soon joined them on the menu.
Zucchini bread was a big seller and a customer favorite. Sadly, it was an absolute misery to make, with bits and pieces of the ingredients sticking to the cook’s clothing and hair. (Brownies took the bread’s place in the lineup.)
What’s in Luna’s future? Cindy and Carly have found that every single aspect of the cafe has customers who love it just the way it is. The tables, chairs, coffee beans – even the floor. Cindy sometimes imagines something new for that floor, but she’s also been told that the current one contributes to the Luna look.
They weathered COVID, feeling the stresses just like every other Island business. It did give them some time to step back and pay attention to many pending details of the cafe. This has been helpful as inflation has hit; they know exactly what goes into each of their products, how it’s priced, and how it’s used. Tight inventory control and targeted bulk purchases have helped them buffer their customers from the worst of sticker shock.
The future of Luna will look a great deal like what is already familiar. Great coffee and an evolving suite of food offerings. Cindy has been stepping back, helping in the kitchen as needed – and she continues to keep the books. Carly has become the primary manager, and doesn’t foresee a time when Luna won’t be her main day job.
“Vashon Years” are like dog years, and Luna’s 25 years of operation is more like a century anywhere else. Be sure to thank Carly, Cindy, and any of the others who have cared for Luna over its many years of operation.
