Hangouts: The Desk

I spend a lot of time in coffeeshops. I bounce from one to the next looking for the right vibe, good coffee, and a staff that doesn’t mind me tapping away at my computer for several hours at a time. That can be a hard balance to strike. Enter the Desk, a new breed of java joint that opened in April in the old Buffalo Exchange space on 13th Avenue. Owners Mandy Stevens and Kristian Barowsky created the shop to appeal to the thousands of residents who work from home.

Although I spend my time in the Desk’s front cafe sipping coffee made with Ink! beans, this is merely a fraction of the space. Walk toward the back of the building and you’ll find carefully thought out, rentable workspaces. Chairs are ergonomically correct, individual desks are large enough to spread out, outlets are easily accessible (no more bartering with your neighbor to plug in), and—when you rent—the coffee is free. There’s a station for every type of worker: communal seating ($5/hour), desks ($10/hour), offices ($15/hour), isolation booths ($5/15 minutes), and a conference room ($40/hour). And, of course, there’s the cafe up front where seating is first-come, first-served.

I think the Desk hits almost all the right notes, right down to the complimentary filtered water (choose still or sparkling). My only wish is that Stevens and Barowsky offered more compelling food options. One can only eat so many pre-prepared Boulder Breadworks salads in a given week. My secret hope: That the Desk will someday offer an abridged menu from neighboring City O’ City.

230 E. 13th Ave., 303-832-0868

—Image courtesy of Rachel Nobrega