In 2017, Daily Coffee News has shared stories of more than 100 coffee shop openings in the United States alone.
Many of stories have followed the gritty determination of independent owners scratching and crawling through piles of municipal code, unforeseen flaws in building structures and systems, and any number of difficult matters related to people.
From being coated in drywall dust to standing behind a freshly powder-coated espresso machine, what these people bring forth are unique expressions — reflections of company, brand and, oftentimes, self. The idealized hope is that these expressions resonate with customers in order to provide financial means to survive in an increasingly competitive specialty retail landscape. If all goes exceptionally well, the really batty ones choose to do it all over again, sometimes five, six, seven times (perhaps until JAB comes knocking).
After poring over, so to speak, all of this year’s openings, we’ve broken our “biggest of” list into three regions: East Coast, West Coast, and No Coast. We should also offer a few caveats:
- Arbitrarily assigning regions within this vast country is an imperfect science that’s bound to offend the geopiety of many readers. For this, we apologize. In addition, we’ve also covered numerous openings of envelope-pushing shops outside the U.S. that are not mentioned here, and will continue to do so.
- We’re calling these the “biggest openings” of 2017, but we’re certain to have missed some along the way for any number of reasons — let’s borrow the recently popular coffee term “force majeure.” If you’re aware of an opening that particularly excited you this year, let us know! Better still, let us know what’s in store for 2018.
Caveats complete, here some of the most exciting shop openings of 2017, U.S. East Coast edition. We hope to see you there!
(Note: for other big openings, check out our “West Coast” and “No Coast/Third Coast” listings.)
Alpha Dominche Opening Public ‘Extraction Lab’ in Brooklyn
The Alpha Dominche Extraction Lab in Brooklyn, N.Y. Photo by Jonsar Studios.
Alpha Dominche, maker of the visually striking immersion-style vacuum brewing Steampunk machine and its newer batch-brewing counterpart Sight, has just announced the Feb. 3 opening of a public showroom and progressive roastery café in Industry City, Brooklyn, N.Y…[read more]
Swing’s Coffee Opens Elegant New Bar in Downtown DC
Swing’s Coffee at 14th and G Street in Washington DC. Photo courtesy of Ron Ngiam.
When Swing’s Coffee Roasters — founded by Michael Edward Swing as M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters — fired up its first batch of greens in 1916, Woodrow Wilson was finishing his first term as U.S. President mere blocks away at the White House…[read more]
Atlanta’s Banjo Cold Brew Takes the Stage with First Café, in Avondale
Photo by Michelle Rose Creative.
After nearly two years of warm reception to their cold brew at Atlanta-area farmers markets, restaurants and specialty grocery stores, Banjo Cold Brew Coffee has opened its first brick-and-mortar coffee shop, in Avondale Estates…[read more]
A Growing Rivalry: Philly’s Rival Bros Opens Second Shop, Third Coming
Rival Bros. Touraine shop. Jason Varney.
If there had to be a shop that rivaled the original Rival Bros. Coffee Roasters bar in terms of equipment and aesthetics, it could only be another Rival Bros. shop. And now that shop exists…[read more]
East One Coffee Roasters Opens Ambitious Roastery Café in Brooklyn
The dining room. East One Coffee Roasters photo by Ethan Covey.
The menu at the newly opened East One Coffee Roasters in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., opens with the line, “coffee is a fruit.” This simple declaration reflects not only the new company’s core business as a roastery café, but also its culinary essence as a full-on, all-day restaurant…[read more]
Shearwater Coffee Roasters Sailing Into First Full Cafe in Connecticut
Shearwater Coffee Roasters Founder Ed Freedman at the roastery tasting room. Shearwater Coffee Roasters photo.
For the past four years, Shearwater Coffee Roasters has been roasting greens that are produced at origins where quality is high and organic certifications are official prior to their gliding along the surface of the Atlantic on their journeys to Port Jersey…[read more]
Vinyl and Coffee Shop Bump ‘n Grind Spinning Gold in Silver Spring
Bump n’ Grind photo.
In Silver Spring, Md., the micro-roaster cafe and vinyl record store Bump ‘n Grind opened in late 2014, offering a carefully curated selection of records displayed on a wall overlooking the seating area that’s opposite the full-service coffee bar, with turntable listening stations tucked off to the side…[read more]
In NC, Full Bloom Coffee Roasters Blossoms with First Cafe
Photo courtesy of Full Bloom Coffee Roasters.
For roughly four years in central North Carolina, Full Bloom Coffee Roasters has offered the promise of quality, fresh-roasted coffees, and more recently, bottled cold brew. Now the people of Garner, N.C., can take that promise to the bank, for in the building built in 1910 that was originally the Bank of Garner, the company’s first Coffee and Craft café has opened its doors to the public…[read more]
Indah Coffee Goes Big with Roastery Move and First Retail Bar in Columbia, SC
The new Indah coffee bar with a custom blue Victoria Arduino Black Eagle gravimetric espresso machine. Photo courtesy of Indah Coffee Co.
After seven years of steady wholesale growth, Indah Coffee Co. has just relocated its roastery, launched a cold brew bottling line and opened its first brick-and-mortar retail café in a 1940s-era building in Columbia, S.C…[read more]
Intelligentsia Coffee Opens Beantown Bar and Training Lab
The new Intelligentsia coffee bar in Watertown, Mass. Image courtesy of Intelligentsia coffee.
The 1,500-square-foot retail space, located at 810 Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown, is the first Intelligentsia to offer on-site parking, and features a mix of built-in seating, tucked-away nooks and vintage European furniture opposite its long coffee bar, upon which a La Marzocco Strada AV sits for espresso and a Grindmaster Cecilware Barista Series Urn provides quicker grab-and-go brewed coffee…[read more]
With a Bright New Shop, Story and Soil Coffee Joins Hartford’s Flowering Scene
Michael Acosta at Story and Soil Coffee in Hartford, Conn. Photo by Sarah McCoy.
Last month saw the opening of an intimate, inviting first coffee shop by Story and Soil Coffee. The 484-square-foot space with lavender walls, one wallpapered accent wall, hanging plants and exposed brick offers nine indoor seats that will soon be augmented by patio seating…[read more]
Read All About It: Broadsheet Coffee Roasters Goes Big in Cambridge
Photo courtesy of Broadsheet Coffee Roasters.
Before Aaron MacDougall officially switched on the lights to Broadsheet Coffee Roasters in Cambridge, Mass., last month, the former investment bank manager had already achieved some major highs in the coffee world…[read more]
East Pole Coffee Plants Its Flag with Impressive Roastery Cafe in Atlanta
East Pole Coffee. Photo by Jonathan Wade.
Atlanta-based wholesale and online retail coffee company East Pole Coffee is opening its first brick-and-mortar retail coffee shop next week. Situated along the street of the expansive Armour Yards loft-office campus, the new 2,000-square-foot walnut and brass-bedecked roastery café is a substantial step up from East Pole’s humble beginnings just two years ago…[read more]
Passenger Coffee Draws New Blue Line Coffee in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Photo courtesy of Passenger Coffee.
The forward-thinking coffee people at Lancaster, Pa.-based Passenger Coffee may be well practiced at the experimental art of freezing green coffee, though their retail aspirations are by no means stuck in time…[read more]
Caffeine Roasters Energizes Tampa With New Roastery Cafe and Drive-Through
Caffeine’s second location and roasting home in South Tampa. Photo courtesy of Caffeine.
With its second retail coffeehouse in as many years of operation in Tampa, Fla., Caffeine Roasters not only debuts its own house-roasted coffees, but also adds to the Tampa scene what co-founder Nidas Kiuberis considers a local game-changer: A drive-through…[read more]
Nobletree Coffee Opens Tasting Room and Labs at Its Red Hook Roastery
The Nobletree Coffee Roastery and Tasting Room in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Photo by Kevin Hatt, courtesy of Nobletree.
Vertically-integrated coffee company Nobletree Coffee, which own farms and mills in Brazil, a roastery in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and two retail cafes in New York, has always been in a unique position to highlight transparency in its closed loop of supply…[read more]
In Philadelphia, Pilgrim Roasters Is Worth the Trip
Photo courtesy of Pilgrim Roasters
At its roastery cafe in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pilgrim Roasters seeks to show respect for the long journey each tiny bean undertakes from soil to cup. This is done not only through investments in quality equipment and quality greens, but also in water…[read more]
1000 Faces Smiling in Athens (GA) as New Roastery Café Opens
1000 Faces Coffee’s new roastery and cafe at 510 N Thomas Street in Athens, Georgia. Photo courtesy of 1000 Faces.
Over the past nearly 11 years, 1000 Faces Coffee has been a mainstay of the coffee community in Athens, Georgia, reliably offering its loyal customers in the generally progressive college town consistently high-quality cups in friendly environs…[read more]
Following New York, Parliament Opening Shops in Philly and Charlotte
Parliament Espresso & Coffee at the New York Historical Society. Facebook photo.
After debuting nearly one year ago on within the New York Historical Society building, Parliament Espresso & Coffee Bar is making two more high-profile openings with its second and third shops, in Philadelphia and Charlotte, North Carolina, respectively…[read more]
Phillip Di Bella’s Abbotsford Road Opens in Gowanus, Brooklyn
Abbotsford Road photo.
Abbotsford Road, the new upscale roastery cafe concept from Australian coffee veteran Phillip Di Bella, has opened in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. The light-filled, high-ceilinged 2,700-square-foot facility includes seating for approximately 40 guests, while a Probat roaster, sacks of green coffee and an education space are in full view of patrons, driving home the “crop to cup” concept promoted by the brand…[read more]
Retail Descendant of Lineage Coffee Roasting Opens in Orlando
Photo courtesy of Lineage Coffee.
Ringing in its fifth anniversary in business this month in Orlando, Florida, the wholesale roasting company Lineage Coffee Roasting has also opened the doors to its first full-fledged brick-and-mortar shop…[read more]
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