Name: Storyville Coffee Company
Description on their web: A Simple Pleasure. A Desperate Need. A Beautiful Dream
Neighborhood: Downtown-Pike Place Market
Address: 94 Pike Street, #34, Seattle WA 98101
Music playing: Some type of new agey jazzy instrumental spa like music.
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso, Frosted Cinnamon Roll, Chocolate Cake, Mocha
Comments: As we mentioned in our Coffee Shop Thoughts, this is the coffee place that most impresses our visitors to Seattle. First of all you will normally end up near Storyville Coffee Company if you have visitors in town since it’s located in Pike Place Market. What seems to impress our visitors is that it’d hard to find, so unless you are looking for it, you won’t come across it unlike some of the other coffee places in Pike Place Market, such as the first Starbucks, Local Color or Ghost Alley Expresso, which you’ll stumble across if walking the market or going to the gum wall. Visitors feel like their in on a local secret spot. Storyville Coffee Company is in the building on the NW corner of Pike and 1st. You walk up the stairs and it’s on the top floor.
The other thing that impresses visitors is the place itself. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite coffee place, but you will not find a more gorgeous coffee shop in all of Seattle. First thing you notice is the huge semi-circle ordering bar with warm lighting. There are two stations for making the drinks and if you look right behind the cashier and baristas you can see all their pastries. The next thing you’ll notice are their huge semi-circle windows that look down on the market and it’s famous Public Market Center sign and if you look straight ahead, the view of Puget Sound. There’s a huge fireplace and lots of comfy leather seats and sofa. There are a pair of long repurposed wood tables with stools. The hardwoods look original like some of the other spots in the market. They also have another location down the street on 1st and Madison and a location in Queen Anne, but neither comes close to replicating the experience of the Pike Place Market location for your visitors. I’ll make the bold statement that when it comes to both the inside space and the views, there is no other place in Seattle like it.
Apart from the normal expresso and brewed coffee(including cold brew), there are tea options, hot chocolate and Italian sodas. The food options are a kale salad, homemade tomato soup, oatmeal and a breakfast sandwich, but the real goodness are their baked goods. I’m partial to the Frosted Cinnamon Roll. I have a tradition of visiting Storyville for an espresso and cinnamon roll after visiting my dentist, who is also located in the market. What, no cavities? Give me a sugary cinnamon roll then! You’ll pay Pike Place Market prices, but the beautiful space makes it worth it.
They have a subscription service that ships coffee beans the same day it’s roasted out of their Roasting Studio on Bainbridge Island. They claim that by subscribing the cost comes to 65 cent per cup. Not bad. They also have an admiral mission to stop human trafficking by donating a portion of every cup sold to organizations fighting human trafficking. One quirky thing is that they don’t open at 7:00 or 8:00, they open at 6:59 and 7:59. I’m also curious about their logo, a child playing with a toy airplane. The next time I’m there, I’ll ask and report back.
Ratings
Favorite Thing: The frosted cinnamon roll and gorgeous space.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4.5
Food Options: 4
Overall: 4.5
Eavesdropping Convos:
Girl 1(G1)-So we visited a financial advisor last week and he says we’re way behind in saving for our retirement. All this time I thought that our company automatically puts money for our retirement in the 401k, but it looks like you have to sign up for it. I had no clue. How am I supposed to know? All these years I thought the company put money in this account for us. I wondered why I never got a statement. I told Gary(her husband?) that I had a 401k, but I guess I don’t. He was pretty pissed.
Girl 2(G2)-Yeah you have to opt in. I try to contribute at least the company match since they match it 100%. It can add up super quick.
G1-What!? What does that mean?!
G2-If you contribute 4% of your paycheck, the company puts in another 4%. It’s kinda like free money.
G1-Are you serious?! 8 years I could have been doing this? Why didn’t HR tell me!!!
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