Coffee Shops are Perking Up Gillette
coffee, coffee friends, coffee shops, culture, dee rozier, food, sheri merchen,
Gillette is known for its coal mines – and caffeine, too?
About a dozen coffee shops dot the town these days, each with its own distinct personality and special brews. Some shops have somewhat unusual names such as Brothers Coffee and Lula Belles, while other coffee spots are affiliated with national chains such as City Brew, Mountain Mudd and Starbucks.
Others are independently owned and operated, including Brothers Coffee, Coffee Bean, Powder River Espresso and Coffee Friends.
“People who frequent espresso shops usually test many of the places in town before settling on their one or two favorites,” says Kathi Brazee, owner of Coffee Friends on South Gillette Avenue. “For example, I use a different bean than an espresso place down the street would use, so a coffee-drinking customer might ultimately choose me over another place – or vice versa. It is just lucky that here in Gillette there are so many coffee places to choose from.”
Brazee says her Coffee Friends shop is such a popular downtown gathering spot that she has opened a small room in the back of her store for business people to hold meetings while enjoying their morning coffees.
“My place opens at 7 a.m. every weekday and we are busy every morning,” she says. “Besides coffee, I offer quite a few light breakfast items that include a different kind of quiche every day. The most popular are a vegetarian quiche that I serve, as well as a bacon, cheese and tomato quiche.”
Coffee Friends is also open for lunch each day except Sunday, with a menu that features 20 different sandwiches and 10 different soups.
“My best-selling sandwich is a cashew chicken salad sandwich, and my most popular soup is probably a Wisconsin cheese or a vegetable beef soup,” Brazee says. “I have also opened a salad bar that goes great with a cup of coffee. For $6.75, customers can enjoy the salad bar and a drink for lunch, or the salad bar with a cup of soup. By the way, I also sell 20 different kinds of tea here.”
Most coffee shops here offer free WiFi access to customers. Music is on the menu at one of the shops. Brothers Coffee converts from coffee shop to coffee house on selected evenings and treats customers to live performances from local and regional musicians.
Jennifer Clinton believes that a good cup of coffee is so important to the residents of Campbell County that it is no problem for a dozen coffee and espresso shops to thrive here. The manager of Starbucks Coffee on South Douglas Highway says she thinks of coffee shops as a “third place environment,” ranking after home and work as the places where her customers spend most of their time each day.
“Coffee shops in Gillette are just ideal places for people to get away from their busy schedules for a half-hour or so and relax quietly or meet a friend for a visit,” Clinton says. “For example, our Starbucks store offers a soothing atmosphere, with big cushy chairs and inviting, comfortable surroundings.”
Clinton says that besides the lattes and ground coffee that have made Starbucks famous, the store also offers a selection of 30 kinds of pastries.
“A fluffy croissant with a latte, hot cocoa or herbal tea,” she says. “That’s a nice way to start the day, or to take a break in the afternoon.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Jeff Adkins
