As the weather gets increasingly colder the closer we get to winter, the thought of a warm, cozy, and inviting afternoon in a coffee shop calls my name. With the days getting shorter, the golden-lit, quiet ambiance of a coffee shop tucked in a street corner at dusk sounds like heaven. One thing that I will touch on in later posts this month is the coffee shop as a community center. To me, it is more than just stopping to get a drink to wake up with. Many coffee shops don’t stop after the morning rush, they have open mic nights, crafting workshops, and local bands or singers for those creative minds who don’t rest and need a third space to exchange culture and inspiration.

As I reflect on these things, I find myself daydreaming about how my own coffee shop would look. What music would be playing softly overhead, what would my menu look like, and what drinks and bakery items would I be testing out for my winter menu? What events would I host or collaborate on? Well, why don’t we sit down with a nice drink and I will answer all of these questions!

The Atmosphere

My dream location for my own coffee shop would be on a street full of historic buildings in a small town. That way, it is easy to walk through different stores and have a quick stop for a drink in-between. My shop would have a dark brick exterior with large windows overlooking the street, and below those windows would be dark evergreen bushes.

Inside my coffee shop, there are no “big lights” allowed, and definitely no white LEDs. Lighting is provided by table-side lamps as well as hanging lantern-style and string lights. There are booths up against a wall with dark wooden tables and chairs opposite them. Of course, there is a bar along the window with stools overlooking the street. At the very back of the building is a couch and some other plush seating that surrounds a table. There are always donated craft supplies available for anyone to use.

Scattered throughout every wall is art by community members, bulletin boards with local events, old maps and postcards from around the world.

Of course the shop’s manager and security guard, Tori, is always somewhere.

Now that I’ve set up the scene, let’s walk up and read the-

Menu

My shop will have the common coffee styles and offer a variety of flavors, but these will be the signatures:

Drinks

Chai Lattes– One of my favorite drinks that I barely ever get for myself. If it’s in my shop, though, I can drink it way more often lol.

Cinnamon Roll Iced Coffee– This is one of my all time favorites, available in a hot option as well. Cinnamon roll features flavors of cinnamon, brown sugar, and chocolate syrup.

Sour Punch Energy– Am I the only one who likes a sour energy drink? I want to feel the caffeine work while tasting like a sour patch kid 😋. This drink has favors of blue raspberry and pomegranate over an energy drink base.

Porch Mug- Black coffee with milk of choice, nothing over the top and simple to order. Cold foam is available in vanilla, caramel, maple, and toasted coconut for added sweetness.

Dandy Tea– A loose-leaf house blend of green tea, dandelion, ginger, honey, and lemon. Dandelion tea is my current favorite, so it has to be on my menu.

Winter Menu Drinks

Hot Chocolate– This is a classic, non caffeinated winter staple, and comes with a candy cane on the side.

Peppermint mocha- This is an old favorite of mine, I have always loved mint and chocolate. I am just now learning that mint is not a universally-liked flavor, whaaa?

Spiced Orange Mocha– Now chocolate and orange I can expect some push back on, but it is so so good.

In the Pines– Inspired by the only coffee drink from Onyx that I have liked, this coffee has flavors of vanilla, cardamom, brown sugar, and pine.

Cranberry Wonder- Think of this drink as a “refresher” type, with cranberry, orange, vanilla, rosemary, and sparkling water. Edible silver glitter is mixed in to make this drink look like a frosted cranberry wonderland!

Winter Remedy- Hot tea of a house loose-leaf blend. Green tea is the base, with lemon, honey, ginger, and spearmint to soothe a scratchy throat and warm the stomach.

All drinks are made with milk of choice, and any milk alternatives have no price increase. Any coffee is customizable as well. Why was it so much easier to come up with a seasonal menu than the signature drinks 😂? Anyway, let’s move onto the-

Treats & Eats

I am meat, egg, and dairy free, and while I will try to accommodate some dairy in my coffee shop, I just can’t stomach touching meat all day. Making Dylan’s dinners a couple nights a week is enough for me, so none of my items will include meat. All items are vegan, but can be substituted for dairy or egg.

Daily Bakery Items include:

Croissant Sandwich– Just Egg, vegan sausage patty, and non-dairy or regular cheese topped with tomato, spinach, and a creamy avocado mayo on a fresh croissant. All veggie croissant sandwich is also available with spinach, cucumber, tomato, avocado, microgreens, shredded carrot, and mayo.

Bagels- Both sweet and savory options available with cream cheese in plain, strawberry, chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar, and red pepper 🔥.

Cake Donuts- Cake donuts have always been my all-time favorite donuts apart from regular glaze, especially blueberry cake donuts. These would also be available as donut holes.

Cinnamon Rolls- Big, fluffy cinnamon rolls with extra cinnamon, topped with the seasonal icing flavor or plain. I’m thinking vanilla maple icing for fall and gingerbread icing for winter.

Bakery Dog Treats- These are PSS safe for our manager Tori, and the flavors will change weekly. The treats include pumpkin oat soft treats, sweet potato oat treats, banana and peanut butter oat, animal crackers, and low sugar pup cups.

Nighttime Event Treats Include:

No Bake Cookies- No bakes are my all-time favorite cookie since childhood. On nights where the coffee shop hosts sit down events, I can imagine a plate of these cookies being demolished before the night is over.

Hash Bites– Little bite sized hash brown rounds, served in the morning as well but as a potato fanatic, these also make for the perfect snack.

Hummus & Pita Tray– Whenever mom and I go to a coffee/bar known for their music nights, we always get a platter of hummus with pita chips. They are delicious and an easy finger food.

Frito Chili Pie– A hot bowl of chili and Fritos chips are event night specials for those who are busy bees and want to attend after work or errands and didn’t get a chance to eat lunch or dinner. Dylan and I are obsessed with these right now, so that’s why I had to include this menu item🤣.

We have a drink, we picked out a snack or treat, and now there’s the part that really makes a coffee shop a community- the events!

Community Events

Okay, this section was probably my favorite to dream up. A mix of afternoon and nighttime events make the most out of my shop, and I would both host and provide a space for creatives to teach classes. Here are some of my ideas:

Book Club– Either monthly or bi-monthly, the shop will be the meeting place for a book club! The first few books will be picked by me, until the members can form better connections and learn each other’s reading styles. Then, the books will be chosen based on votes or by media popularity. For monthly meetings, we will discuss the whole book, or half of the book if it is particularly long, Bi-Monthly meetings will split the book up further.

Craft Workshops– Craft workshops are the most diverse event type that will be hosted. I would like to have a mix of free and paid events, and the paid events would cover more niche or expensive crafts, or be taught by a community member who has specialized in it. I’m thinking a CD burning night where we decorate our cases using collage and scrapbooking, and everyone can create their playlist to be burned onto a CD to take home. Watercolor workshops are a given, as watercolor is my all-time favorite paint medium,

I would work on collecting thrifted sewing machines to have sewing workshops (this could open up the doors to quilt or sewing club meetings or a Seamstress Market day), along with any and every craft or DIY that you can think of. If I am not well-versed in it, then I would provide a space to host an instructor. Most of the events would be suitable for adults or older teens, but some nights like collage or painting nights would be suitable for kids as well.

While many may view these events as more “feminine”, anyone is welcome, and I would like to extend my workshops to include things like mechanics and inventing. I am no mechanic or inventor, but I just think it would be so cool. If a group of people would like to come and learn how to fix thrifted sewing machines, that would be awesome lol.

There are infinite possibilities with community classes, the only limit would be resources and that is where craft markets and paid events would help further funding. I could write 1,000 more words just about craft events and classes, but this post is already getting long!

Snail Mail Night- It wouldn’t be my coffee shop without a night for people to come with their snail mail supplies and have a cozy space to write and talk with other mail lovers. My shop would also have it’s own stamp to show where the mail is being sent from and my shop will send it out as well! Since this is a Bring Your Own event, anyone can do any mail-related activity or just come and hang out. My coffee shop will have their own postcard designs for sale, as well 😋.

Open Mic Night– I am horrible at singing and only know the bare bones of piano and ukulele, but music is so important for a community, and open mic nights are perfect for those who love music and performing in a more casual setting.

Local Artist Music Nights– The most important thing for a new music artist is visibility, and my coffee shop would turn into a venue by night for small artists. I don’t know if I will have space for a full band, but having solo artists come and perform while patrons talk or hang out would be awesome.

Clothing Swaps– This is a new idea that I was introduced to by watching Sam’s Pants and Plants on TikTok. She goes to clothing swaps, where participants bring gently used clothes and accessories that are still in great condition and swap them with clothes that other people have brought. It is a completely free event, which is really appealing, and is a great way to introduce some new pieces in your wardrobe while getting rid of clothes that are no longer your style.

Sounds busy, right? Don’t worry, during the morning and most of the afternoon, the shop will be quiet, cozy, and distraction free. Some of the craft events would also be quieter activities, including Snail Mail Night and BYO Craft Night, providing a background talk ambiance.

Conclusion

Basically, I would just live at the coffee shop 🤣. Balancing the drinks, food, event planning and coordination, experimenting with new menu items, and setting up for market days, it is no wonder that Tori would always be at the shop as well. It’s not like I would be home often! This is all in an imaginary, perfect world, though. Thinking through all of this for the post made me have a new appreciation for my local coffee shops that inspired me while writing. It was so fun, but also difficult to come up with creative drinks, and I have many more ideas that I didn’t fit into this post.

So, what do you think? Would you visit?

Thank you so much for reading! What would be your signature drink in your own coffee shop? Let me know, and I will see you all soon.