Cafe Aquatica in Jenner serves up locally roasted coffee with a side of scenic views

Delicious lattes, sandwiches and baked goods at Cafe Aquatica in Jenner all come with one of the best side dishes in the entire Bay Area: a commanding view of the Russian River estuary.

At low tide, this means a front-row seat to sea birds, deer and foxes foraging for tiny critters in the sand. At high tide, there’s a veritable cavalcade of kayakers, stand-up paddlers and sometimes water bikers zipping by.

If the food and views aren’t enough, Cafe Aquatica also consistently serves up hearty helpings of an inimitably west county vibe. Most of the produce is grown locally. The coffee beans are roasted in Sebastopol. The music — yes, there’s live music every weekend — is performed by singers and players from right here in our backyard. All the seating was crafted by North Bay carpenters.

“We are as local as it gets,” said owner Rachel Kulinski, 32. “That’s definitely part of the appeal.”

The cafe was founded in 2007 and celebrated five years under Kulinski’s leadership this October. Looking forward, Kulinski said the next few years will bring big changes and a recommitment to all the things that have made Cafe Aquatica such an icon on the Sonoma Coast.

Inspiration for the cafe

Cafe Aquatica was created by a west county local named Aron Parks. His vision at the time was to create a small coffee shop right on the water that celebrated natural beauty.

Originally the plan was to call the place Driftwood Cafe. Then Parks saw the movie, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” and the ideal name changed to Aquatica. Parks later drew inspiration from another movie — "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” — when he modeled the cafe logo after the Hai Peng junk ship.

After creating the logo, Parks did all the original carpentry for the business’ space himself, building counters, chairs, even parts of the open air deck that looks out on the river and Penny Island to the south.

Much of this handiwork still exists today.

“When we opened, the place was about good coffee and nature,” said Parks. He added that, according to the former owner, at one point, the building at the east end of Jenner’s tiny downtown was home to the first espresso machine in Sonoma County.

Cafe Aquatica became a fan favorite. Locals enjoyed stopping there on day trips to and from the coast. Visitors saw it as a great pit stop on road trips from Tomales Bay to Mendocino County.

By the late 2010s, Parks had expanded his empire with several offer coffee shops across the county. When he decided to sell the storefronts and focus on coffee roasting, Parks gave first dibs to those employees whom he thought would be good stewards of the brands. Kulinski, who had been working as a chef and barista, was an obvious choice.

“Cafe Aquatica was my baby so it was really important for me to pass it on to someone who cared about it as much as me,” Parks said. “I could see (Kulinski) had leadership qualities, she cared about the greater connection to community, and most important she has a good heart.”

Owners, patrons invest in local

Parks and Kulinski worked out a deal and Kulinski took over the spot in October 2018.

Kulinski took over as owner and Parks stayed on as the exclusive coffee roaster — today all beans are provided by Parks’ company, Ataria Coffee Collective.

As a professional chef with three years of experience at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Kulinski stepped into the owner role with a multitude of ideas. She expanded the menu to include items such as the crab roll, which has become a fan favorite. She also added beer, wine and barista drinks, including a “Golden Latte” with a turmeric blend from local herbalist Brittnie Hall at Sister Harvest.

“I’m predominantly pescatarian, so I I kept menu close to heart and full of things I like to eat,” Kulinski said. “I really wanted to showcase what the Sonoma Coast has to offer without having the same things every little spot would have. I believe that when people are here, they must experience our local flavor.”

While many restaurants struggled during the pandemic, Cafe Aquatica thrived, since it has no indoor seating and many local people flocked to the coast to get away.

Kulinski added a food window to facilitate social distancing.

With the exception of April 2020, when basically everything was shuttered, the cafe was open throughout the pandemic and was almost always packed.

“A lot of people were going to the coast because they were avoiding crowded areas,” she said. “They wanted to stay outdoors and sit al fresco. I feel lucky we already had that. The setup helped a lot of people through a time when we couldn’t go to our favorite places or do our normal things.”

Coming out of the pandemic, Kulinski engineered more improvements. She added a windbreak and corrugated plastic covering to the upper level of the back patio. She built a tiny outdoor stage. She reconfigured seating on the east lawn. She also reorganized the entrance, providing more space for retail like Cafe Aquatica merchandise and a queue.

Cafe Aquatica now books musical acts to perform on the tiny stage on weekends. Last weekend, on a crisp and crystal-clear Saturday afternoon, the local duo Nico & Taylor performed three sets of folk music. This weekend, Eric Long and Sol Strom are on the schedule for Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Heather Wilson, who lives in Healdsburg, loves the cafe’s live music. Wilson said she visits a few times a year, usually after stand-up paddling in the river.

“The crab sandwich is amazing and music on the weekend is always fun and lively,” she said.

What’s next for the business

Looking forward, Kulinski has big plans for the future of her little cafe.

In 2022, she bought the property, meaning she now owns both the building and the land. That means the gift shop and wine bar next door — both of which keep sporadic hours — are her tenants. It also means that at some point Cafe Aquatica may choose not to renew the lease and expand to take up the entire structure.

In the meantime, Kulinski is contemplating more immediate changes. More retail. Barbecued oysters like the ones they serve at Hog Island Oyster Co., in Marshall. Crudos. Maybe even evening programming

“There’s not much of a scene in Jenner later in the evenings,” she said, noting that even many of the local restaurants usually shut down pretty early. “Especially in the summer, I don’t see why we can’t change that.”

A local kayak outfitter, Water Treks EcoTours, stores its boats on Cafe Aquatica property, and Kulinski said she’d like to deepen that partnership in the years ahead.

The cafe also remains committed to supporting local artists and nonprofits. The restaurant had an art reception for local artist Molly Kars on Nov. 3, and Kulinski said the cafe is participating in a fundraiser for the School Garden Network of Sonoma County later this month. Cafe Aquatica also planned to donate a percentage of all profits from Thanksgiving Day to the Pomo tribe.

“We see ourselves as a community hub first,” said Kulinski. “We take great pride in that.”