Affogato – The Baristas

Uh oh.

Two weeks in a row when we’re going to post an episode on a Tuesday instead of a Monday? Is it the end of the caffeinated world? How did that happen?

Simply put, anyone familiar with the Pittsburgh tech scene shouldn’t be surprised that this week’s episode is slightly delayed, because this weekend was the weekend of PodCamp Pittsburgh 6, when time stops for the city’s social media practitioners. (Or speeds up. I forget. We all usually end up sleep-deprived and talking about “the future” at 3 AM…)

But there’s another reason behind our slight hiccup this week, and it’s a doozy: see these pictures? This is what Affogato (where we film the show) actually looks like right now. Which, if you watch The Baristas, is not what the cafe looks like onscreen.

That’s because the cafe is under new ownership, and renovations are afoot. This is very cool in the long run, but very interesting from a continuity standpoint.

So, our apologies, but please pardon us while we try to wrap our heads around how we’re going to match our shots from our last 3 episodes before the cafe totally transforms into… well, you’ll see.

And then, tomorrow, watch Rich, Chase and Lorraine to really start causing problems around the cafe…

Sometimes, making this show is more hectic than anything we could put onscreen.

Since our last episode, we’ve juggled the departure of several cast members, the tragic last days of some broken equipment, and the descent of Batman into our fair city (and into the schedules of many of our cast members, who are featured extras and stand-ins throughout the filming of The Dark Knight Rises).

But perhaps most complicated of all is the news that Affogato — the cafe where we film the show — will almost definitely be closing at the end of August.

(Side note: anybody want to buy a cafe?)

All of which sounds crazy, right?

In fact, it’s not unlike the upheaval that Ben, Dierdre, Gary, Madison, Reggie and (the newly-unemployed) Sam are going through with their new boss, Lorraine, suddenly in charge of the cafe.

So, while we could just drop you into our new storyline headfirst, we’re going to treat you better than that: we’re going to roll things out slowly. Because, frankly, there’s a lot of change headed your way over these next nine episodes, including:

* several new characters making their debuts

* a few old favorites saying their final goodbyes

* a new location (?)

* a new website (?)

… and, of course, a DVD.

These last 9 episodes will wrap up The Baristas’ first season, and then they’ll all be made available on DVD, which will include behind-the-scenes footage, director and cast commentaries, deleted scenes, a “lost” episode and more. Those of you who were fans of our previous show, Something to Be Desired, may recall that STBD was never released on DVD, so this will mark the first time you can (legally) bring Glenn, Dierdre, Sam and Astrid into your living room (digitally, anyway).

And then, if we’re all lucky (and well caffeinated), it’ll be on to Season Two…

… if we — and Affogato — survive Lorraine of Terror.

Stay tuned.

Tag: Affogato

Holy Renovations, Coffee Lovers!