A Cup Of Common Wealth

And now, with no importance to the order, some random pics of generations of baristas over the years.

Thanks for all the well wishes and all of you that stopped by yesterday. Couldn’t have done eleven years without you. Over the years we’ve gotten our fair share of surprises, birthday cakes, fun signs, broken windows, celebratory cheers, stories & shared journeys, and the biggest hugs and most heart-warming support. There have been plenty of times over the years where we stumbled, struggled, and fell flat on our faces; and maybe couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then along came one of you, or two of you, or a hundred of you and picked us back up and put us back on the path. So all the love and thanks to you - eleven+ years worth! We’re looking forward to finding ways to give back to all of you, even a little bit every day, as we charge to twelve.

Today we celebrate our 11th bday…heading into 6th grade! A few things to note: We have two Celebrity Baristas with special happy hours: 10a-11a @mrsacanada & 2p-3p @zeejay23 We’ll have cake for you to come snag a piece throughout the day (starting roughly around 8a) We’ll have a T-shirt and mug sale from past birthdays and events And we’re open until 4, at which time we’ll go find a place to celebrate eleven years. Just an ordinary birthday, hanging with some of our friends and loved ones from over the years.

Eleven years ago we had our very first Family and Friends night and then we opened the Big Blue door the next day. Lots of birthdays since and lots of broken windows, but we made it to the big 1-1! Take a gander at some of our old pics. We’ll be sharing some more tomorrow of past birthdays. As for tomorrow - we’ll have a couple of happy hours, two returning Celebrity Baristas to help us out, and some cake to pass out. Nothing too wild, but just enough to be special and to thank you all for another year. “We may not have much, but we have each other, and that’s all we really need”

Happy Pride Y’all! Open until 4p. Closed tomorrow. Celebrating the big 1-1 on Monday! But let’s pausey-pause for a moment and talk more about today. Our very last Celebrity Barista, taking us into our 11th birthday on Monday, is none other than the effervescent @mrsacanada We found some pictures of her over the years that showcase her personality, some memories with friends, and even her interview with us so, so, so long ago. She’s a gem, a rockstar, a constant supporter, a living legend among these parts, and she’s here from 9a-11a to do whatever she wants for a couple of hours. Come say hi, see if she still has the dance moves, and ask her when she’s coming back to work with us, because we can’t keep asking her.

Sooo tonight, we have our first non-former barista jumping behind the bar. Tonight from 6p-8p tonight we invite @coreymaple to be a Celebrity Bartender! If you don’t know him, he’s been a good friend of ours from waaaaay back July 2013. He’s a local entrepreneur, but is probably most proud of being a husband, father, and great friend to many. He also put together our line-up of bar drinks and will be helping us add to the menu very soon. In the meantime, he’ll be hanging behind the bar tonight for a special happy hour with a drink TBD. Come learn all you can from this Beverage Mastermind tonight.

Thanks for all the love today and big shoutout to @deliainablackdress for jumping right behind the bar to help with a line (like she never left)! As we start heading into a fun & wild week or so, we wanted to let you know about some special hours. Pride weekend, staff meeting, we’re turning the big 1-1, got a race/parade celebration, and another drink tasting night for a new menu. Summer’s here!!

We wrapped up our action-packed day with Sam. Was so great hanging with him as we got a solid reminder of his kindness, his coffee art skills, and the way he always finds connections with others. Nice to have him back even for a couple of hours. But now, we turn our attention to tomorrow! Yep - from 9-10a tomorrow we bring back @deliainablackdress from our very original barista team. This is the very first time she’s ever been a Celebrity Barista and when we looked up old pictures we got all the feels remembering 2013; keeping us on The Nostalgic Train we’ve been on for the past month. From the very beginning her compassion and grace poured off of her and so many have been lucky to get a little light that Delia brings wherever she goes. And a little known fact - one of our original & long-standing customers became one of our friends because of her. Yay for Big Bob! Delia introduced him to the shop and then we got to meet Tag and Little Bob. Come join us tomorrow as this customer, turned barista, turned customer again (and always good friend) joins us behind the bar for the first time in eleven years.

Just a flashback to the way things were in 2013. Testing out cold brew recipes, calling old coffee friends to talk start-up, cleaning & constructing, making friends to help put the shop together piece by piece, painting all the yellow, we mean reeeeally painting all the yellow, and opening up shop.

One week out from our 11th birthday! We’re going to be sharing some memories this week, but also we’re wrapping up our Celebrity Baristas that have come in and helped us out this month - making us feel so special as we get ready to turn the big 1-1. For those of you wondering, here’s the lineup for the week: We got Sam on Wed from 9a-11a. While he still helps roast coffee it’s been awhile since he’s been behind the bar, so come check out his skills, ask him about his missing water bottle, and let’s learn all about his beertending skills. On Thursday from 9a-10a we stretch back to “A Cup of Common Wealth: First Class” and bring back one of the original baristas @deliainablackdress ! We’re ready for all of her compassion, grace, and welcoming personality. And can’t wait to hear about Aunt Life and the adventures of Finn. Then Friday night with a time and drink TBD, we bring in @coreymaple to have a fun happy hour and give him all the appreciations - as he put together our first round of cocktails that have been well-received! Come find out how this family man and bartender-in-residence puts together all of his drinks. Finally, on Saturday from 9-11a, we bring in the loudest, zaniest, happiest woman we know. That’s right, we’re letting @mrsacanada loose behind the bar again and help us close out our month of Celebrity Baristas. She’s been on a lot of journeys lately, so she’s probably full of “literally” a million stories. We’re looking forward to the next week and can’t wait to hang out with all of you!

Much thanks to Rollins and Evan for their Celebrity Barista shifts and now we turn to the east and welcome back @matthew_b_posting from 10a-12p today. His nickname is Better, because well he’s better. He was a barista for us and also ran all of our baking and catering for awhile. And now, he does some cool IT things that we don’t understand, but always comes in to say hi and check in on us. Pumped to have him today and ready to hear all about what he’s been up to and you all should ask him about climbing and his upcoming Mother/Son trip!

Selena brought the giggles and wisdom of the world while Zach brought the White Russians and the comic book knowledge aaaaand they made it an incredibly fun day. As for today, @maryrollins gets here at 9a and will probably be her ever-efficient, talented self and @flakeysquare will be here at 6p teaching us all about Sidecars and LoTR!