Cortona Cafe opened in the Central District this morning and will host a grand opening party for the public -- with free coffee -- Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Drip coffee will be free all day, and espresso drinks will be $1.

Barista Whitney Aguirre (top photo, and one of 150 people who applied for five barista jobs) pulled Herkimer Coffee espresso shots this morning while owner Will Little put finishing touches on Cortona's web site and hung its two outdoor signs. He also posed for a photo (middle) in the cafe's spacious loft area, which has a slide projector and recovered wood tables that can push together to form a community table.

The loft space, which can be reserved online, is free to anyone who wants to hold an event as long as it's open to the public, lasts no more than two hours and "respects the viewpoints, cultures, and opinions of the people present."

Little, who has his Ph.D. in bioengineering from the Swiss Technology Institute in Zurich, named Cortona after an Italian village where the institute takes part in a regular multidisciplinary conference where ideas are shared. "I want the name to lead into dialogue, to bring together people from different backgrounds to discuss different issues," he said.

He grew up in Bremerton and has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Washington. While he was preparing to attend medical school, his UW adviser got a job at the institute in Zurich and invited her advisees to come with her and get their Ph.D.s.

Little married his sweetheart, now Sarah May Little, and they spent three years in Zurich. The couple has two children, and he is a volunteer pastor at Mars Hill Church.

He also has a consulting business based on the computer language Ruby, formed when he "geeked out" in Zurich. He hopes to sell it and use the cash to invest in other Central District businesses.

Little said he frequents nearby Tougo Coffee and initially approached its owner, Brian Wells, about opening a third Tougo in the space that's now Cortona at 2425 East Union Street. Instead, Wells has helped him with the shop design, hiring and training, and the coffee program.

Cortona is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Baked goods are from Essential Baking, and Little hopes to offer crepes and waffles soon.

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