Plenty of new coffee shops have opened in Portland in recent years, including Heart West, Barista 3 and 4, and Coava 2, but Good Coffee is the first all-new coffee company the city has seen in a long while. Founded by brothers Nick and Sam Purvis and their friend and business partner Dustin Evans, the aptly named shop will offer good coffee to its neighborhood, no pretense attached.
The café sits on the corner of Southeast 48th Avenue and Division Street, a few steps away from the heart of Restaurant Wonderland. The Woodsman Tavern and the original Stumptown café are nearly next-door neighbors, and Ava Gene’s, Roman Candle, Salt and Straw, Pok Pok, and Whiskey Soda Lounge are just down the road. When I stopped in to chat with Nick the day before they opened, a steady stream of curious passersby wandered in through the rolled-up garage door, eager for the café to open. Nick already knew many of the visitors by name, thanks to months of running their walk-up espresso cart out of the space while it was still being built—an excellent way to get a jump start in befriending neighbors and developing a customer base.
Inside, the space is lovely—these guys have really achieved the ideal balance between a minimal Scandinavian and woodsy Pacific Northwestern aesthetic. Sparkling white tiles and light wood floors are mixed with walnut shelves and cozy cowhide rugs, and a variety of plants add a bit of greenery to the mostly white space. The furniture includes industrial chairs from The Good Mod, hanging lamps from Schoolhouse Electric, and a handsome sofa from Los Angeles-based designer Stephen Kenn. “I’m already imagining the day a little kid sits down and spills a drink or smooshes a croissant right into that seat,” laughs Nick, “but the fabric is super durable so it should all age really well.”
An attractive, fully customized white La Marzocco Linea Classic espresso machine and a white powder-coated Mahlkönig EK-43 grinder sit atop a cool lacquered marble countertop. Americanos, filter coffee (brewed on a Fetco), and tea (from the relatively new but already highly respected Song Tea & Ceramics) are served in VitrifiedStudio ceramic mugs, while espresso drinks are presented in simple notNeutral cups.
The menu showcases cofffes from Heart, Coava, Roseline, and MadCap. Sweet treats are from the fairly new Frice Pastry, and Lardo sandwiches will eventually be added to the mix. “We’ve chosen products that inspire others to live great stories,” Nick explains. “Quality is a must, but once we open the doors, the space belongs to the community and the people who exist inside.”
The shop is unofficially open this week from 7am-2pm, and a grand opening date will be announced soon. Finishing touches are underway in the meantime: A standing bar and bench seating will soon be installed, and more products will be available for sale as part of a retail component of the café, including waxed canvas aprons and tote bags from Seattle-based Hardmill, Vitrifiedstudio ceramics, and Schoolhouse Electric lamps.
In further exciting news for coffee enthusiasts in Portland, a second, smaller Good Coffee location is already slated to open this December, right on a busy cycling route at Southeast 12th and Salmon. It’s been awhile since I’ve been this excited about a new café in Portland, and I look forward to seeing what Good Coffee brings to the city!
Joanna Han is a contributing editor at Kinfolk Magazine, and a Sprudge contributor based in Portland, Oregon. Read more Joanna Han on Sprudge.
All photos by Joanna Han for Sprudge.com
