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One of the best ways to get to know a small town is to find its coffee shop. In Breckenridge it’s the Crown, in Eagle it’s Color Roasters, and in Aspen it’s the five-month-old Local Coffee House.
Local is a new addition to Maker & Place, Michaela Carpenter-Olson and her mother Candice Carpenter-Olson’s ode to design, stocked with beautifully handcrafted textiles, jewelry, table top accessories, ceramics, and more. The airy space is multifunctional: a retail store, a small artist space up front, and the tiny coffee shop in the back corner. Shelves and tables display the goods for sale, which means there’s built in browsing while you wait for your pour-over and something tasty to nibble on.
Beans come from Carbondale-based roaster Cilundu Coffee, a nonprofit benefiting New Day Orphanage in Mapanza, Zambia, and there’s a small menu of breakfast and lunch items. The offerings (of course) include avocado toast (add a poached egg and bacon) and a quinoa bowl, as well as a tuna melt with fresh mozzarella on brioche. But the best option is the satisfying black rice porridge with almond milk, fresh berries, and pumpkin seeds.
The space is so small that you may be tempted to get your order to go—but don’t. Stay and enjoy Local’s careful plating and use of handsome cups, plates, bowls, and utensils. Who knows? You might just pick up some design tips over your cup of morning joe.
602 E. Cooper Ave., Aspen, 970-880-1379
