The newest branch of Ristretto Coffee Roasters has opened at 555 NE Couch St in Portland. The new store, designed by Accelerated Development’s, Keith Shrader, gives a nod to the area’s industrial past, with lots of heavy steel and clean wood finishes. It features a large bar and community table seating area, the computerized Steampunk semi-automatic siphon brewing system, two house-developed cold toddies on tap, and a selection of beer and wine. Pastries are from the excellent Bakeshop’s Kim Boyce. The new Ristretto will be open 7 days from 6:30 am – 8:00 pm, with a happy hour from 4-6 pm, featuring a selection of wines, six or seven beers, salumi from Olympic Provisions, and other snacks.
Owner Din Johnson is also working on a book for the home aficionado, “How to Make Coffee – Before You’ve Had Coffee”. It includes sections of coffee chemistry, buying beans, storage, ratio, and a roundup of home brewing methods. Expect to see it in the stores The expected release date is late September 2013.
Stuart T. says
I’ve been excited for this new Ristretto location to cut the ribbon and decided to stop in yesterday morning. The coffee is beyond great, which I had fully expected. Being a design professional, I was also curious about the space.
It is a new building (much nicer among those Portlanders are currently being bombarded with) in a great area (close to some of my favorite restaurants on Burnside). With that, my expectations were high for how this space would turn out…but seriously? This is a coffee shop? It’s as if Team Concrete and Team Steel decided on a friendly competition to settle the long-standing question of who’s got more “industrial character” with constant interruption by a warm and purposeful referee – bamboo (I assume). It is simply a beautiful space, and perfect for Ristretto
nancy rommelmann says
My goodness, Stuart, thank you so much. What an amazing summation/observation. And Food Dude, thank you for your piece. See you all at Couch!