How Thornhill Coffee House Became an Anchor of This Oakland Community | Eater SF

"Situated in the Oakland Hills, Thornhill Coffee House isn’t likely to earn a spot in the Michelin Guide, but I’ve seen it become a neighborhood favorite and a true community hub: lunchbox-style sandwiches, breakfast bagels, and standard coffeehouse drinks are menu workhorses, but it’s the care in each item—the tuna sandwich, made with lettuce, tomato, and avocado and studded with thick cucumber slices (which I usually order alongside an iced chai), frozen coffee cubes that give the iced coffee a bonus buzz, and a fiery-fresh green papaya salad that’s always made to order—that has created a loyal clientele. The exuberant proprietress, Thyda (TEE-dah) Yim, who has owned the shop for 16 of its 26 years, is the magic ingredient: she treats customers like family, remembers personal details, accepts tabs with a “don’t worry, you can pay me later” attitude, showers kids and dogs with treats, cradles new moms’ babies, and even summons paramedics when needed. Her traditional Cambodian dishes—a fish-sauce–funky, spicy green papaya salad that easily feeds two and plump spring rolls with rice noodles and poached shrimp or avocado served with a sweet, nutty dipping sauce—are as beloved as comforts like a Caesar variation with egg and avocado, hot chocolates overflowing with marshmallows and whipped cream, freshly blitzed fruit smoothies, and a child-accessible corner-store selection of Pocky, Takis, PopTarts, and bubble waters. Margins are tight and the pandemic squeezed the business, but Thyda’s warmth, relentless multitasking (she can turn out dozens of breakfast sandwiches and lattes in minutes), and the shop’s role as a microcosm of the Merriwood-Thornhill area keep a devoted, intergenerational clientele, including her son Andy who still works there part-time." - Laura Smith Borrman