Trust Coffee Co. Bonds Cafe with Cocktails Outside of Cleveland

At Trust Coffee Co. in Bay Village, Ohio. All images courtesy of Trust Coffee Co.

A new venture called Trust Coffee Co. is building credibility with new customers day by day, with cocktails by night, along the shore of Lake Erie in Bay Village, Ohio.  

Co-founder Tess Smith sought to combine distinctly feminine senses of warmth and welcoming with elements of sophistication reflecting the quality of food and beverages served in the 1,400-square-foot cafe.

Marble, walnut and gold surfaces naturally reflect different vibes between the daytime and nighttime hours, as changing lighting and music also transform the ambience. 

The cafe’s liquor license is a holdover from the building’s use as a liquor store in the 1960s or ’70s, while physically the new cafe conjoins two retail spaces that previously held Java Bay Coffee and Andy’s Shoe Repair.

Smith and her husband — Trust co-founder and restaurateur Mike Smith — nodded to each of those former uses, plus their own family history, in the shop’s interior design. 

“We chose to incorporate meaningful touches with the art used within the space highlighting love letters written between Mike’s great grandparents in 1902, vintage wooden shoe molds as a nod to Andy’s Shoe Repair and other mementos that have hidden meaning to our family,” Tess Smith told Daily Coffee News. “Overall the space is welcoming, comfortable, and feels like home.”

The Smiths also incorporate items from Tess’s other venture, The Print Shop gift and home store, as well as coffees from a number of boutique roasting outfits, including Cleveland favorite Duck-Rabbit Coffee.

“There are so many good options of products in the world and we are so fortunate to have one of the best here in Cleveland,” Mike Smith told Daily Coffee News. “We have developed a great relationship with Duck Rabbit and we are grateful to continue to use their beans.”

Georgia-based Valor Coffee, Florida-based King State Coffee, Texas-based Cultivar Coffee and California-based Cat and Cloud round out the current offerings in Trust Coffee’s nationwide multiroaster selection.

“One of the biggest things we were looking for was having coffee from different regions of the country,” said Mike Smith. “We love the variety of the beans these companies are importing, and it gives our guests a fun variety of beans to choose to brew at home.”

The coffee bar also serves as the springboard for the cocktail program, which incorporates plenty of espresso, cold brew concentrates and the cafe’s house-made syrups into its inventive libations.

Scratch-made pastries and simple, elevated fare for breakfast and lunch reflect the culinary talent aboard the Smiths’ parallel ventures, Thyme Catering and the Thyme Table restaurant bar.

“The cocktail program is intended to bounce off the coffee program,” Mike Smith told DCN. “We will have a really fun program that mimics the quality of the nationally recognized Thyme Table cocktail program, while also offering a totally different type of menu.”

Beans ground by Mahlkönig grinders and extracted in a 2-group La Marzocco Linea — which is soon to be joined by a Ground Control hot and cold batch brewing system — lay the basis for drinks both classic and fanciful, such as the all-day seasonal Winter Thyme, a salted maple, vanilla and cardamom soy latte available with or without añejo tequila.

Cold brew and Prosecco are both served on tap, while the shop makes its own ice cream for affogatos. Fresh hot toasts and breakfast sandwiches give way to coffee-rubbed tenderloin focaccia sandwiches and other heartier fare as the day winds on.

After four years of developing the concept and scouting locations, another eight months of design and eight more months of construction, Mike Smith suggested now is the time to trust the process. 

“We fully believe we are using one of the best roasters we can find locally,” said Smith. “We love that we are able to support another family-owned business and it allows for us to focus on providing our incredible pastry and bar program.”

Trust Coffee Co. is located at 27225 Wolf Rd. in Bay Village, Ohio. Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter. 

Related Posts