"Five Points got a big caffeine boost late last month when Queen City Collective Coffee opened its second coffeehouse location in the neighborhood at 2962 Welton Street. The space, which is located adjacent to the 29th and Welton light rail stop, is no stranger to coffee as it was the previous home of Purple Door Coffee. Westword reported in May that Purple Door, which employs youth who were previously homeless, was closing up its shop to focus on its growing roasting operation. Queen City Collective Coffee, which began as a wholesale roastery with a commitment to serving single-origin coffees, opened its first coffeehouse location about a year ago at 305 West First Avenue in Baker in a space it shares with Strand Brewing Co. Queen City co-founder Scott Byington said the new Five Points location will have the same coffee menu offerings as the Baker original, including staples like lattes, cortados, and shots of espresso prepared from Queen City Collective’s single origin roasts. However, the new location is also adding some new products, including a small selection of palomas and other mocktails that have been made with coffee instead of alcohol. Queen City Collective Coffee debuted a larger selection of those mocktails when it opened its new cold brew coffee bar inside the new Mission Ballroom concert venue in Elyria-Swansea in August. Other added offerings include a new toast made with sourdough bread from the Rebel Bread bakery in Five Points, which also provides pastries to both shops. Queen City Collective is also developing sweet and savory spreads for that toast, which will rotate seasonally. The Five Points location will also be serving three different lunch sandwiches created by Anthony Lopiccolo, the head chef at Five Points’ Goed Zuur sour beer bar. The shop will also offer a selection of grab and go beverages, including kombucha from Boulder’s Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha. Byington said the new Queen City shop has kept much of the infrastructure from Purple Door Coffee and the main portion of the shop remains “clean, bright, and airy.” However, the bathrooms were painted in abstract graffiti. The shop will also sell the Queen City Collective roastery’s roasted coffee, including bags that have been stamped with a sticker indicating the coffee within was grown by a female farmer. Byington said he and his two brothers, who he runs Queen City Collective with, are continuing to look for other opportunities to expand their business, However, he says they will avoid “opening shops just to open shops” and instead are looking to open in locations where they can participate in the fabric of the neighborhood through partnerships like those they have established with Rebel Bread and Goed Zuur." - Paul Albani-Burgio
