This is one of a series of posts about locations that appear in the Jake & Boo books. I’m going to try to give you a little information about each location, show you some pictures, and talk about that location’s significance in the books. I’ll do that last bit in as non-spoilery fashion as possible. But if you don’t want to know anything about the story, or you’ve got an image of what places look like that you don’t want changed, then by all means give these posts a miss. But I hope you’ll take a look, and that seeing these locations will make Jake and his world more alive and relatable to you.

You don’t have to read far into the first Jake & Boo book to encounter Ground Up. It’s Jake and Don’s favorite hangout – where they go for coffee in the morning or a beer in the afternoon. Sometimes they lounge on the patio, or huddle up on a sofa. Sometimes Jennifer Katz is there, knitting away in a corner.

Ground Up is a very real place in my neighborhood, although that’s not its real name. It’s also next door to the beer shop and growler filling station where Jake buys his local IPA in Not an Elf.

The real name, and my favorite local, is a shop called Antidote. I’m not sure exactly when it opened, but it’s been around long enough for me to consider it an institution. I’ve lived a couple of blocks from it for almost exactly ten years. How can I be so precise, you ask? Well, that brings us back around to another Houston institution – hurricanes.

In September, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, including Houston. That was also the month we moved into our new home in Woodland Heights. We were in one of the lucky blocks that went without power for a very short time. Others weren’t so lucky. I have one friend who lost power for two weeks, and another whose house was crushed by a giant elm tree and had to be rebuilt. Antidote lost power, too, but they had a generator. So, did Antidote fire up the espresso machine? Cool down a few cases of beer? Antidote hooked up their free wi-fi so people could come and use it to contact friends and family and let people know they were safe. Those of us who have been around long enough still have not forgotten that. That’s the power of goodwill, people. So yeah, ten years, minimum.

Antidote has what I consider one of the nicest patios in Houston. There are shade trees, lights, fans, and lots of color. Mosquito repellent is usually available (hey, it’s Houston – you learn to deal). It is dog friendly, in case you’re wondering. Pretty much everything I describe in the books is an accurate description, except for two things – the name, and the owner. In the books, the place is owned by Harry, a middle-aged man with bad taste in women. I don’t know about the real owner(s) – but I’m sure they have much better taste in partners than poor Harry.

Sorry about the picture quality – they were shot with an iPhone on a cloudy day. There’s a reason I’m not a photographer, y’all.