Press Coffee Bar Presses Forward at New Location in Dayton

The new Press Coffee location in Dayton’s Belmont neighborhood. All photos courtesy of Press Coffee.

Coffee may soon no longer be the only fruit that gets pressed before it makes its way into cups at the new Press Coffee Bar in the Belmont neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio. If and when the license is approved by state authorities, Press Coffee’s menu will grow to include a wine program as well.

Yet while Press Coffee Co-Founder Brett Barker is excited about developing a wine list that he said will be “extremely curated and focused on small producer wines that are fun and exciting,” there’s not much more he’s ready to divulge about the proposed new offerings — even when pressed.

“I don’t want to disclose the details as we aren’t sure when/if it will be available,” Barker told Daily Coffee News. “I will say that the concept is extremely simple and intentional, as is our coffee program.”

Press Coffee started as a multiroaster cafe when its original, 1,000-square-foot shop opened at the dawn of 2011 in the Oregon Historical District.

The original Press Coffee location in the Oregon District.

The clean and sparse rectangular space features a bar fronted with reclaimed solid wood doors topped with a bright white Corian work surface. The air of simplicity is maintained on tidy wood shelving that holds lush potted plants and by the blacked-out exterior of the shop’s La Marzocco Linea PB alongside an all-black array Mahlkönig grinders and dual Marco SP9’s. Batch brew is prepared in large French presses.

From the beginning, the Press team’s intention was to eventually bring roasting in-house as soon as demand and finances aligned, according to Barker. It was three years later that Press Coffee co-owners Janelle and Brett Barker paid a Craigslist seller $8,000 in cash for a 3-kilo US Roaster Corp machine that they fired up in their home garage almost immediately.

“I found myself working full-time at our bar with about 24 hours of roasting time additionally per week,” Barker said of the hectic period that ensued until they took the next step up to the 12-kilo-capacity Probat P12 that remains at the heart of their roasting operation today.

Primarily for its wholesale initiative, that roasting operation goes by its own name: Wood Burl Coffee. The name change came as soon as the Barkers felt the quality was coming close enough to the high standards they’d already set for customers through the coffees of other roasters.

“We served great roasters,” said Barker, “and I am a stickler for quality and consistency.”

Press Coffee Co-Founder Brett Barker at the Probat P12

The newer Press Coffee that opened in February of this year similarly conveys its tranquility through transparency, natural accents and a subdued palette. Exposed steel rafters run horizontally across the space, including over a black tiled bar with black Corian countertops. White walls and ceilings encompass white-washed wooden furniture and a burn-treated wood accent wall separating the bar area from storage and bathrooms.

“We were influenced a bit by a Nordic and Japanese interior design with the lower bar and monotone colors,” Barker of Press #2. “We promoted the height of the space and natural textures rather than adding paintings or decor to the walls.”

The new Press Coffee Bar is located 732 Watervliet Ave in Dayton, Ohio.