I have a couple of reasons to write about Storyville. This blog post is not about Starbucks. But, I do care about what happens at the Market, and I love coffee. I will not be offended if my hard-core Starbucks readers stop reading now. One thing I have always said is that the only way to really get a good coffee education is to drink a wide variety of roasters’ coffees.
This morning I got my first sneak peek inside the new Storyville coffeehouse, located right inside Pike Place Market, at 94 Pike Street. It is not actually open to the public yet – the official grand opening is October 1, 2013. The location is 94 Pike Street, which near the very entrance to the Market, in the building across the street from the First and Pike Starbucks. I love this area, by the way. I walk to the Market occasionally on Saturday or Sunday mornings, just to get my day started right.
So as part of a special pre-opening invite, I walked to Storyville to check it out early this morning. I walked in and immediately noticed that they’re using Synesso espresso machines. It actually seems like in Seattle, the standard for espresso machines has become either the Simonelli or the Synesso, both of which completely dominate the indie Seattle coffee scene.
I walked up to the bar to order. Unfortunately, I did not look at the menu at all. I just assumed I would be able to order a doppio con panna. I was wrong. I asked for a doppio con panna, and was told by a nice barista that there is no whipped cream in this coffeehouse. The barista told me that they only offer traditional espresso beverages. I had thought that a doppio con panna was a traditional espresso beverage! I then attempted to order brewed coffee. (Again, truly my mistake for not actually looking at the menu before trying to order). There is no ready-made brewed coffee. There is no per-cup system of brewed coffee available. (I would have expected a pour-over system for individual coffee orders.) They can make a huge French press of coffee (the menu says it is 32 ounces) or you can get an Americano. The barista encouraged me to try one of their espresso macchiattos, and so I simply “yes” to that.
My espresso macchiatto was beautiful and amazing:
I sat enjoying my espresso macchiatto, and then was joined by a friend (Jim) who is also a coffeehouse fan. Shortly after he arrived, a barista came by our table with a “sample” of waffles. These were stunningly good. They were extremely light, and crispy. Very little doughy-ness to them. I learned from Storyville baristas that all their treats are baked in-house, in the back where there is a kitchen, and nothing is more than 3 hours old.
Jim had some sort of sea salt caramel roll, that too was an amazingly delicious. He ordered a breve latte, which he said was caramelly-sweet and wonderful. The bakery items are unbelievable.
The lobby is large, adorned in deep wood tones, bar seating, a fireplace, and comfy couch seating too. The view from the lobby is fantastic:
One thing that is interesting is that they really don’t showcase a lot of coffee in their merchandise wall. You can see a couple of pouches of their coffee blends in the center of the lone merchandise wall:
Storyville has an amazing espresso bar, and delicious bakery items. I actually cannot say much about their whole bean coffee blends. Maybe that will be another trip in – at some point I will try again to order a single cup of coffee, and if not, I’ll get the large French press.
I want to share just a few more pictures. If you are visiting Pike Place Market, you probably want to put this on your list of places to visit! (Along with Beechers, the Confectional and 1912 Pike Place.)
I pulled this great photo of Storyville from their website. You can see it is a large, pretty space:
And Colleen, this blog post is just for you! 🙂 Jim’s daughter (Colleen) recently was hired by Storyville, so this was part of the encouragement to go check it out! We will be back to our regularly scheduled Starbucks programming soon!
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Great article but I’m confused.
You said ” nothing is less than 3 hours old.” I am hoping you meant that nothing is MORE than 3 hours old.
@Emmanuel Levy – Good catch. I will fix that right now. I write a lot of articles in one fell-swoop with almost no proofing! One draft articles! LOL. It should say nothing is more than three hours old. Thanks.
Great article melody and I so enjoyed reading about this coffee bar. Nice to see it added to the market and sorry it was not there when I was there many moons ago. This place sounds so relaxing and welcoming. It is a chain?
Thanks.
Purple1 – It’s a really newer business. There is, as I understand it, one location and main roasting facilities on Bainbridge Island (in Washington). It was founded in 2006 – in the Seattle world of coffee, that’s a total newbie.
From just the few pics you have shown us, the ambience of this place is awesome if you ask me. The waffle looks rather appealing at the moment……
@Melody, great post. In my book, variety is the spice of life. I just might have to make a trip across the mountains before the passes fill with snow 😉
Looking forward to stopping in! Like their logo.
Another great post. Storyville looks spacious and comfy. Just curious – does it smell like coffee in there? Do they offer free wireless? Did the baristas have a uniform during this preview?
That waffle looks scrumptious. I do think it’s weird they don’t offer drip or pour-over coffee, but maybe I am just so used to Starbucks.
[Side note: Did you see the new pour-over stand/cone set?]
Wow, sounds like my kind of place and really emphasizes why La Boulange just doesn’t cut it.
I really like the First and Pike location (I think it is the big community table) but this place sounds like it would easily replace it.
@CD – Next time you are in Seattle, I will gladly meet you for coffee here. The issues with the new pastries has me torn. I feel like the jury is still out on them. It worries me that I hear so many people do not like them. If so, that is a big mistake – $100 million on a bakery? On the other hand, there is a comp of people who like the chocolate croissants and the savory croissants. We will see if works …
@DadCooks – Come to Seattle before Snoqualmie pass gets snowy!
@Chgo- I was genuinely trying to say that the ambiance at this store is wonderful! If I wasn’t clear about it, it’s an amazing coffeehouse – like a “destination” coffeehouse. It elevates the coffeehouse experience in the Market – there are many many coffee places. Local Color coffee just doesn’t have this elegance. First and Pike is a beautiful big store. There is a coffee place across from First and Pike that strikes me as a little weak.
I think ambience has a lot to do with the appeal of any coffee shop, more so for local shops though. Wonder how that large french press would be? Oh, also, i think certain Starbucks are quite capable of good ambience if the music is right, and there is more seating and a calm crowd. Being blind, i can’t pick up on things like visual appeal lol, however, i can pick up the feel of any coffee shop pretty quick. It’s comforting to know that America hasn’t forgotten about the coffee house feeling.
This place looks amazing. From the name, to the menu, to the overall experience, I would love to visit this one for sure. Thanks Melody, for taking us outside the Starbucks store and into another adventure.
@Melody – I understood you. I was just throwing my 2¢ in. When you post these threads and show the pics, I look at the store from the pictures, and try to imagine where I would be sitting if I was there. I was admiring the over all look. And the waffle 😉
@Austin – Thank you for your comment. I never thought about coffeehouse ambiance from the viewpoint of a blind person. That is amazing. Insightful comment – thank you.
@BeckyE – Glad you liked it! I was a bit worried about writing about a coffeehouse other than Starbucks. Not sure if any readers would be interested.
Great first glimpse of this new coffee house. I’m a bit disappointed with the trend of newer coffee houses trying to put down anything that sounds like it may have been a Starbucks invention. Espresso con panna is very much a “traditional” espresso drink, originating in Vienna and sometimes called “Viennese Coffee”.
These coffee houses, while being great pioneers in advancing coffee culture, really give off the impression of being temperamental teenagers rebelling against their elders. Let’s all face it, they wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Starbucks leading the way to better and higher standards for coffee back in 1971. Back then, good coffee was cut with robusta and the proportion of grounds to water was 1/2 a tablespoon for each 8oz cup! Not to mention it was not unheard of for coffee companies to advocate reusing brewed coffee grounds! Starbucks put an end to all of that!
@Alex – Amen and thank you for the conversation! Amen. In 1989, when I moved to Seattle, there were few coffeehouses at all compared to now. There were far fewer coffee roasters, and the whole world of specialty coffee was so different than now. Starbucks did a remarkable thing.
And I hate it when coffeehouses act snobby, as if they want to spend their time putting down Starbucks. Could you be anymore un-classy?
One thing that worried about writing this is that I had talked to a partner who told me that she was doing a ton of research on Storyville, and was sure that she found about a 4 minute video of Storyville founders mocking Starbucks. I looked and looked and could not find it.
But I live by an abundance philosophy, not a scarcity one. There are abundance of customers, and you have no need to worry about competition. You will always earn your customers with great beverages and great experiences, no matter who you are.
And frankly, I find that those who want to mock Starbucks, don’t know much of anything about them. They don’t know what they’re doing in the year 2013.
And I thought a doppio con panna was a traditional drink!
The mocking of Starbucks is indeed quite an uneducated response by most people who do it in my opinion. People try to cling to the idea that local coffee shops is the way to go for good coffee, which is some cases, may be true. But let me say from experience, i have a hard time ignoring the snobby attitudes held by some of the local places. Starbucks gives me exactly what i want in coffee when i need it. For me, SB goes deeper than simply coffee. It’s almost life changing. I got to know my girlfriend there. Something about an iced double shot and good company just makes the experience some type of nirvana. Sorry to sound corny, but some people know what i’m talking about.
Thanks Melody! This post is so great! I’m glad you liked it and Storyville would be happy to have you back!
Hey Colleen! Jim and I were there yesterday, and I will be back next Sunday with my friend Ruth! Congrats on your excellent job with Storyville!
Thanks for the interesting article. I will have to go check this out. Also, I can’t let this opportunity pass without highly recommending a restaurant upstairs in this same bldg at 94 Pike Street. Matt’s in the Market is one of the best restaurants in Seattle in my opinion. Dinner is fairly high-end but lunch is quite reasonable. A great way to cap off a meal at Matt’s would be coffee and dessert at Storyville downstairs.
Hi Jim – I went back to Storyville since this article. Still feels a bit like an espresso bar & food place moreso than just being about the bean. But absolutely a great experience, and I will keep Matt’s in mind. I noticed that there are signs up on the corner of Queen Anne Avenue & Boston for a Storyville location there as well. Thank you for your comment!
**Mars Hill Church** is behind Storyville. Just Say No to Cult Coffee. (R)