Caffe Umbria – Ballard
Description on Caffe Umbria Coffee’s website: Caffè Umbria is a full-service, wholesale coffee roaster based in Seattle, Washington. But the family’s roots in roasting go back to the 1940’s, when Ornello Bizzarri built his roastery in Perugia, Italy. The Arco Etrusco in our logo is a landmark of the Umbrian city.Caffè Umbria is currently served in hundreds of cafés and fine dining establishments throughout North America, from the Bellagio Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. To each of our customers, we guarantee unmatched quality, freshness and professional service.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Address: 5407 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Doppio Macchiato
Comments: This is the last of the Seattle Caffe Umbria locations that we’ve written about. We wrote about Caffe Umbria in Pioneer Square that made it to our Seattle Coffee Awards for Best Coffee Shops For Big Groups and Best View. We also visited the smaller Caffe Umbria in Westlake. They do also have two locations in Portland and two in Chicago.
The Caffe Umbria – Ballard location is right in the middle, size-wise to the huge Pioneer Square location and the small Westlake location. Located right on Ballard Ave in the old part of Ballard, the ceilings are much higher here, than in normal Seattle buildings, so the floor to ceiling windows let in much more light than normal height spaces. The height of the windows even make the back of the space quite bright.
They have a few pastries available, but not a full menu. Some of the stand out features of the space are the chandeliers and the huge exposed brick wall. There’s various types of seating- a few outdoor seats, counter seating at the front window that look out on Ballard life, counter seating where the drinks are made, bench seating with single tables and a “living room” type seating area.
Like Anchored Ship Coffee, try not to come here during the Sunday Farmers Market if you can help it. It’ll be packed and drinks may take awhile.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: A modern space with some vintage touches in old Ballard.
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 4.00
Overall: 4.50
Eavedropping Convo: Two ladies talking at the table next to us. At first they were talking as if they were friends, but it became clear they were conducting a job interview.
Interviewer: So what is you ideal work environment?
Interviewee: Well traveling is my jam, so anything involving travel, especially overseas travel I’m on board with. Comment: Yes, she really did say that “traveling was her jam” on an interview.
Interviewer: Ok. Well, you know this position doesn’t involve any travel with the exception of conferences domestically. With video conferencing and screen sharing there really is no need for face to face for the job.
Interviewee: My belief is that so much more can be gained by face to face conversations. Trust and bonding with the client for instance.
Interviewer: Agreed, but there is a cost involved with travel, especially if it’s absolutely not required.
Interviewee: Truthfully, if a company doesn’t see the value you in it, I can live with it. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d be hesitant to work for a company that couldn’t afford for their employees to travel.
Comment: At this point the interview was for all intents and purposes over. The interviewer just went through the motions of asking the remaining questions with no follow up questions. We would have loved to know what industry and position this was for.
Related: