Ashley Rodriguez
Barista behind two clear cones of coffee beans.
Cafe Domestique features beans from various roasters.
Expanding to a second location wasn't on Cafe Domestique owner Dan Coppola's mind in 2022.
He’d opened the original Cafe Domestique on Williamson Street in 2017, in a space that doubles as a bicycle shop.
But last year, one of his former baristas texted Coppola, asking, “Hey, can you talk to my father-in-law about coffee shops?" Initially, Coppola thought he wanted advice on starting his own coffeehouse. But it turned out that the father-in-law was Travis Dettinger, who runs a contracting business called Grace Built and he wanted to create something neighborhood-focused in an adaptive reuse development at North Street and Commercial Avenue. Dettinger is one of three co-owners of the building and previously worked on projects like B-Right Barbershops and Emerson Senior Living.
Coppola began putting ideas together: "This space had been vacant for years, and every time I drove by, I thought, 'Oh, this would be a really great spot for something.'"
The site was previously home to a biotechnology company, set off from the Eken Park neighborhood by a chain link fence. Although Coppola wasn’t looking to open another business at the time, he was drawn in by the location and the plan the building owners had to bring in local businesses.
“When they started to redevelop this property, they knew the mix of businesses they wanted to have in it,” says Coppola. “It took a long time to get to the point where I was ready to commit to the space, but I had an opportunity to meet with the other business owners moving in, and after a handful of meetings, we were all on board.”
In November, Cafe Domestique opened its second location there, sharing space with Bloom Bake Shop and Young Blood Beer Co. in the project, finally dubbed Northstreet.
The remodeled space is now open and bright, with communal seating meant to serve all three businesses. Patrons are greeted with large lightbox signs reading "Bakery," "Beer" and "Coffee," lit when each of the businesses is open. "Each of us was picked intentionally," says Coppola of the building's occupants. "We have complementary businesses, but our hours don't necessarily overlap, so you could come in at one point in the day, have one experience, and have a completely different one later."
Unlike Domestique’s Willy Street cafe, on a major thoroughfare, the North Street store is more tucked away. "You have to be in the neighborhood to know we're here, and that's benefited us," says Coppola.
The building features murals by local artist Henrique Nardi, with a big, bold "Hey Neighbor!" near one of the entrances. On warm days, a garage door opens to a spacious outdoor seating area, further connecting the space to its surrounding neighborhood. "Whether it's a product of not having a parking lot or just being in an urban area, more than half our customers arrive on foot. Almost everyone who visits us lives less than 10 blocks away."
With so many large, new developments popping up just blocks away on East Washington Avenue, Ald. Barbara Vedder, who represents the area, says it’s refreshing to see a new space featuring local businesses and serving the neighborhood. “It's nice to have these smaller places here and businesses that cater to the neighborhood,” says Vedder. “The other businesses right there in that intersection — Tip Top Tavern and Ogden’s North Street Diner — are [run by] really great people. They're pedestrian-friendly and neighborhood-friendly. These kinds of places fit in well.”
Over time, Coppola says, the North Street location will develop its own personality separate from its sibling on Willy Street. There are already signs of the North Street branch's individuality: espresso shots are served with a few Teddy Graham crackers, almost as a mini-dessert to end on something sweet and fun. "We're still learning what customers want here,” Coppola says.
Both locations feature a rotating selection from coffee roasters from around the nation, including blends and seasonal single-origin offerings. Recently local roaster JBC was featured along with Chicago-based Big Shoulders Coffee and Little Waves out of North Carolina (in 2022, Little Waves was one of two brands named Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine).
Around Christmas and New Year’s, Coppola brings in notable international roasters like Square Mile in London and The Barn in Berlin. Both menus also feature rotating specialty drinks, like the Burnt Honey Miel, an espresso and milk drink sweetened with burnt honey from Gentle Breeze in Mount Horeb. "We try to make seasonal drinks that are relatable, but maybe have ingredients not everyone is familiar with," says Coppola, who says the burnt honey imparts a slightly more complex sweetness than traditional honey.
Coppola is excited to welcome patrons to the new location. "One of the challenges we'd run into with our Willy Street location is that it's such a small space," he says. "It discouraged people from hanging out. But this space is much different, and we welcome people to spend time with us."
