Mountaineers Find An Elevated Experience At Remodeled Sisters Coffee

All images courtesy of Sisters Coffee.

Longtime Central Oregon roaster-retailer Sisters Coffee Company — now run by a second-generation trio composed of a sister and her two brothers — recently unveiled the results of a major renovation effort at its roastery and flagship cafe in Sisters, Ore.

The Sisters team worked with Portland-based Guggenheim Architecture + Design Studio, the same firm that helped give life to Sisters’ lone Portland shop, The Pearl, to help realize their vision for the flagship. Today, on land originally purchased by Sisters founders Winfield and Joy Durham in 2004 after years of roasting in a much smaller cabin the family called “The Shack,” the Sisters flagship occupies some 6,000 square feet, with approximately half dedicated to roasting production.

The existing Sisters exterior.

“My parents were able to buy the property and that’s when my dad built — literally, he built it himself — the current space we’re in now,” Jesse Durham, who now runs the company along with her brothers Jared and Justin, told Daily Coffee News. Durham added that the simple goal for the remodel was to goal is to “elevate and improve the coffee experience for our customers.”

Helping enhance that experience currently are a number of interior touches and installations, including: distressed fir wood replacing all the carpeting; new light fixtures from Portland’s Schoolhouse Electric, a new Modbar setup; custom cabinetry built by lead contractor and longtime Sisters customer Chuck Newport and his team; zinc countertops from the local business Ponderosa Forge; and a custom community table made from Norfolk Pine sourced from Hawaii.

All images courtesy of Sisters Coffee.

“We had a write up on Vogue’s website that called our space a ‘stately log cabin.’ I never really associated the space with a log cabin feel; I’ve always thought of our place as more of a lodge,” said Jesse Durham. “We’re tucked in a unique geographic area, and many people who visit our shop are either coming off of a hiking trail or about to embark on some kind of wilderness adventure. We love to either gear them up for the journey or provide a space for them to unwind after spending a day in the mountains.”

For the renovation, the Sisters team set up a pop-up shop in the roastery while altering the roasting schedule to include more nighttime work. Yet the comprehensive bar remodel also allowed the company to rethink its retail coffee equipment. The zinc-topped bar now includes the Modbar system for pourovers and two brand new black-powder-coated Linea PBs with the Auto Brew Ratio (ABR) feature.

Justin, Jesse and Jared Durham.

A new kegerator now chills the company’s nitro cold brew, and the team has added a separate brewing station for cupping classes and other tasting-related experiences. Said Durham, “These new additions allow the baristas and employees to bring their own innovative ideas to the café.”

The renovated Sisters cafe and roastery is located 273 W Hood Ave in Sisters, Ore.