The motto of Westfield, Massachusetts is, “community driven.” With such an epithet, you’d expect Whip City to be teeming with coffee shops, those third places that have historically made it a point to cater to their local community. And yet there isn’t really any to speak of, or at least any that put an emphasis on serving coffee from some of the Northeast’s best roasters.
That has all changed now, though, with the opening of Circuit Coffee. Serving coffees from Share, George Howell, NEAT, and Tandem (just to name a few) all through a Kees Van Der Westen Spirit Duette, owner Ted Dobek is hoping his soon-to-be-open coffee bar will be the new third place in town for thirsty locals. Chill vibes, good coffee, and a bar top made out of an old bowling alley lane, this is Circuit Coffee in Westfield, Massachusetts.
As told to Sprudge by Ted Dobek.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
The mission of the shop is connection. When two wires connect, a circuit is formed. We want to connect our area to specialty coffee, stellar service, and quality ingredients. In our area of Western Mass (Greater Springfield area), it is a huge challenge to find good coffee, never mind a cool spot to call a third place.
This is a dream come true for me. Its an exciting adventure me and my fiancé as we will run the shop and are getting married this October.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
We are right in the center of a small redeveloping New England city of Westfield, Massachusetts. The 1,400-square-foot space has been unoccupied for close to 10 years. Highly visible from US 20, a historic highway and is right on the city green, our shop is arguably a very desirable location. Inside, the bar tops are being constructed from reclaimed candlepin lanes from an old bowling alley just down the road from us. Our tables are reclaimed wire spools. The tin ceilings are ornate and add another element of sophistication to the space.
What’s your approach to coffee?
Starting as a multi-roaster, we will be featuring Share Coffee in Hadley, MA as our bread and butter for espresso and drip coffee. We plan to feature Northeast guest roasters such as George Howell, Gracenote, Tandem, NEAT, Giv. We love working with Share Coffee, especially for our staples. By maintaining our great relationship with them, we are able to deliver a consistently amazing product, while sustaining their ability to buy and roast better and better coffee.
We plan to make our menu more approachable by having options at different price points. The simplified menu will serve traditional espresso drinks along with creative beverages based on seasonality. We want to utilize the resources around us to make our shop special. Local dairy farms, maple producers, and roasters of the Northeast.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
Kees van der Westen Spirit Duette grinding on a Mahlkönig Peak. FETCO and Kalita Wave with EK43. ACME mugs.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
Early August
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
Dan Gavrilyuk is building out our bar, made from reclaimed candlepin lanes from an old bowling alley down the road. Dmitry Gordievsky filmed our Kickstarter video that almost more than doubled our goal. Jim Kinney featured a great article about us in our local newspaper. I’m a graphic designer and am doing all of the branding work.
Thank you!
Thanks for all you do in the specialty coffee industry. You rock!
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