Groundswells at Groundwork

Something's brewing in the local coffee world. Groundwork Coffee operating chief Ric Rhinehart has left the company after his efforts to buy a majority share fell through. And a visit to the newest Groundwork location downtown -- the site of the only Clover as yet in operation in L.A. -- yielded further evidence of a shake-up, with news of other folks in the small company gone and dwindling bags of single-lot coffee on the shelves.

This at a time when the L.A. caffeine scene is already highly charged, with Chicago's Intelligentsia set to open shop in Silverlake any day now, and LA Mill's (www.lamillcoffee.com) first retail store slated to go into the same neighborhood in October.

When asked what happened, Rhinehart in an e-mail alluded to "competing visions" within the company.  Richard Karno, Groundwork's owner (and current majority shareholder) said that Rhinehart's leaving was amicable and that the changes reflected Karno's return to the fray after taking a year "behind the scenes" to do product research and development.  Karno, who started the company in 1990, said he wants to refocus Groundwork more toward building sustainability plans than sourcing the high-end single-lot coffees Rhinehart was concentrating on.  To this end, Karno said, Groundwork is targeting more organic coffees, converting to biodegradable plastic products, and switching to vehicles powered by natural gas or, when possible, biodiesel.  There are other changes in the works, including a new store in Silverlake -- the new coffee Mecca of Los Angeles -- and a line of baked goods from the bakery that's already in Groundwork's original Venice location.  And though Karno has a second Clover set to go into the Hollywood branch, he wants to start brewing cups to order in Melitta pots.  "I call it my $29 Clover," said Karno.  A little something to pour into the reusable mugs he plans to phase in. We'll see how the coffee holds up during the transition. 

-- Amy Scattergood

Groundwork Coffee Co., 108 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles; 671 Rose Ave., Venice; and four other locations.

Photo by Amy Scattergood