Beer, coffee get back-to-back national celebrations
Monday was Drink Beer Day and Tuesday is National Coffee Day. If that’s not a coincidence, it’s a bit of misguided planning, since the notion that coffee can sober up a person or help with a hangover has been largely dispelled.
Sources indicate National Coffee Day has been around in the United States since 2005. Drink Beer Day’s origins are murkier, but it appears to be a more recent invention. And it’s not to be confused with April 7, which is celebrated as an anniversary near the end of Prohibition in 1933 when beer was sold legally in this country for the first time in 13 years.
The creators of Drink Beer Day also apparently didn’t get the word out very well, as calls to several Modesto establishments – P. Wexford’s Pub, Commonwealth, The Firkin & Fox and BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse – turned up no one aware of the celebration. Heck, Turlock’s Dust Bowl Brewing Co. isn’t even open on Mondays.
National Coffee Day is a much more organized affair. Here’s how nearby businesses are celebrating:
Krispy Kreme: Participating stores – and the local one, in Riverbank, is among them – are offering a free original glazed doughnut and a free 12-ounce cup of coffee on Tuesday. The Riverbank shop is at 2251 Claribel Road, Suite A, and is open from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Dunkin’ Donuts: The Modesto location, at 1300 Standiford Ave., is offering any size iced or hot coffee for 99 cents. The store hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Starbucks: An employee at the shop at Briggsmore and McHenry avenues said Starbucks locations aren’t offering any discounts or freebies, but that the chain is planting a tree for every pound of coffee sold. A news release on the Starbucks website Monday offered more on the long-term project: “Starbucks will distribute coffee trees to farmers who have been most impacted by coffee rust, a plant fungus that damages millions of coffee trees around the world, making it harder for farmers to produce high-quality coffee for the entire industry. Through September 2016, Starbucks will ensure that a coffee tree is planted for every bag of coffee purchased in a participating U.S. store.”
Peet’s Coffee & Tea: The chain is offering a free small cup of its signature blend, Major Dickason’s, with any food purchase. The Raley’s supermarkets in Modesto and Turlock have Peet’s shops. For other locations, see www.peets.com.
Cottonwood Cafe: The locally owned chain is offering a free cup of regular coffee with any food purchase. It has locations at 3020 Floyd Ave., Modesto; 2014 W. Monte Vista, Turlock; and 154 S. Yosemite Ave., Suite 1, Oakdale.
This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Beer, coffee get back-to-back national celebrations."