Local barista Gianni Assam (formerly of Cartel Coffee Lab, and other shops) is running a fully operational espresso bar in a place called Open Source Project. Its a mix of art, coffee, and music… and maybe a little bit of co-working. They’re having a grand opening April 29th.
I just heard about this new coffee shop in Tucson called Sparkroot. They have a small web site up at sparkroot.com, and it looks like they’re serving Blue Bottle Coffee (from San Francisco) — the first in Arizona.
The shop is owned by Ari Shapiro, and is still under construction. It is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Congress Street. They’re planning to open in July. Ari also owns and operates Xoom Juice, a Tucson juice company with 4 locations.
There’s a new cafe in downtown Mesa serving coffee called Vinyl Rush Cafe. It opened in March and is located at 40 North Macdonald St.
Victor Kessler of Lost Dutchman Coffee Roasters wrote in to let me know about this shop and shared these photos.
He writes:
It’s right across the street from the Arizona Museum of Natural History (they have lots of dinosaur skeletons inside).
It is a cozy little shop full of musical warmth created with the help of an actual turn-table record player.
Espresso is created using a lever style La San Marco espresso machine. There are fresh, baked good available. Inside the shop has limited room, however there are some tables outside in the walkway underneath an awning that provide a comfortable atmosphere. The place is kept strikingly clean, both inside and out.
Vinyl Rush Cafe
40 N. Macdonald Street
Mesa, AZ 85201
Phone: (480) 615-4333
I’m happy to introduce the newest sponsor of Arizona Coffee, a company called The Drawing Board. Paul Valente, the owner, works with many local coffee shops creating custom chalkboard menu boards for coffee shops, restaurants, and other businesses.
You can reach them at info.chalkboards@gmail.com or on Twitter or visit their web site to see examples. Thank you for your support!
Carmel’s Coffee in Phoenix was featured this morning on Fox 10 Phoenix television, and the video is online that you can watch.
Carmel’s Coffee: MyFoxPHOENIX.com
Carmel’s Coffee
4233 E. Camelback Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Phone: (480) 251-8888
I recall first hearing about Copper Star Coffee. It was described as a gas station converted into a coffee shop. At first it sounded really strange, but when you visit Copper Star Coffee you don’t feel as though you’re inside of an old gas station. Instead, it’s like you’re enjoying a piece of Arizona history with the wide open garage door, and the sand blasted walls. Plus, there’s all sorts of cool stuff from around the area displayed in the shop.
Congratulations to owners Bill and Ginger Sandweg and the entire crew at Copper Star Coffee on 5 years!
Copper Star Coffee
4220 N 7th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
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My personal theory is that it isn’t the coffee. Or the buzz it gives them.
This is another advantage cited by Gladwell. Writing “seems like a fun activity now,” he says. “Kind of casual. It’s been more seamlessly integrated into my life and that’s made it much more pleasurable.” Newbies to working remotely almost always agree. Being out in the world during the middle of the workday almost feels like getting away with something, even for people who actually waste a lot more time in office settings reading ESPN.com, gossiping with colleagues, or taking long lunches.
From The Atlantic — an article about working best at coffee shops I found interesting.
Just a quick poll for your Monday tax-day.
Rumor on the street is that Brian Clemens and Jason Calhoon are working on a new coffee shop that will open some time later this year. The word is that Scottsdale is the lucky recipient of their new idea. I don’t have any more info, but this will definitely be a shop to keep an eye on. Best wishes to them as they plan and execute.
I can’t wait to see what they have in store — I hear they are working on some innovative bar design concepts.
Update: Mulch Coffee
What do you all think of these Coffee Joulies? Todd Welfelt just emailed me this link, and it’s kind of interesting. Todd wrote me saying “I ran across a truly unique coffee product on April 1 and thought it was an April Fools Joke. Turns out, it’s not.”
As of now, it looks like they’re way past their target goal of raising $9,500 and have raised over $143,000! Dang, that’s a nice little kickstart.
Marley Coffee recently sent me a free sample of their “Lively Up!” coffee variety to try. I had never heard of Marley Coffee before, but it’s founded by the son of Bob Marley, who was a rocker in the 60s. Seriously.
The bag said full city roast / Medium which I enjoyed. I could taste hints of caramel and cocoa.
Origin: Central and South America, Africa, Asia/Pacific. Roasted in Canada.
Don’t forget to support your local coffee shops this summer. Business usually declines for them when it’s hot. Plus, there’s no reason to ignore a great iced toddy when you see one.
