The food stock is, like the interior; sparse but with potential. The bagels, cookies and muffins were fresh and there was a selection of fruit to boot, which is always a nice option when you don’t feel like packing back 1,000 calories in carbs before 9 a.m. For non-coffee drinkers there is a fair selection of Choice Teas, as well as a couple boxes of the ever-popular Mighty Leaf brand. For fizz, they offer Santa Cruz Organic Citrus Lime drink and Real Brew ginger ale along with some bottled Anitipode water, which looks decidedly space age. For a little taste of home, customers can order a bowl of organic cereal by Nature’s Path, which actually had some draw – the novelty of eating cereal outside of one’s kitchen was curious, to say the least.

Gene Café’s Internet service is fast, and there are numerous plug-ins throughout the space for multiple users. While not overly welcoming in terms of staff or esthetic, the coffee is great, the music catchy, and the potential fine, even it is currently latent.