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 Madison McCord | The Communicator |
| A community cup |
| Spenser Krotje | The Communicator The shop is welcoming with its warmly toned interior which contrasts with several pieces of local artwork displayed on the walls. In the background the soft crooning of a saxophone, piano and cello can be heard. One can smell that all too familiar aroma of coffee beans being ground up on the small coffee shop on Indiana Street. The building itself looks like any other small business in Spokane, wedged in between several other business buildings. However, this shop stands out strongly by the virtue of its business. "I've been feeding my family organic food for the better part of seven years and this was an opportunity to express professionally what I do personally," said Rachel young, co-owner of Coffee Social. Coffee Social is a locally owned coffee shop that offers customers foods with ingredients raised using sustainable methods of growth. Nearly all of the shop's ingredients used are certified organic, locally raised, or produced through sustainable means. The sustainable methods of raising are those that have less of an impact on the earth than conventional means of growing crops. Doma, the coffee used by Coffee Social, comes from a local business in Post Falls. "We serve organic, sustainable and local foods because it's good for the earth and it's good for people," Young said. Ray Wilder has been a coffee fanatic since he was thirteen and a barista at Coffee Social for 5 months. "Honestly, it's some of the best coffee in town," said Ray Wilder. Coffee Social doesn't just boast the promise of a great beverage, fresh made pastries are also readily available. To support local business, Coffee Social purchases its roasted coffee from Post Falls in an effort to help out the little businesses much like Coffee Social itself. Through using local business, 69 cents of each dollar a customer patronizes to a local business stays in the local economy, compared to 43 cents when a customer patronizes a chain store. Coffee Social has a deep commitment, not only to the world, but also to humanity. Rather than a tip jar, there is a charity jar. Some of the charities Coffee Social supports include: Peddles For People, Second Harvest, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, and Fresh Abundance. The coffee shop also offers incentives to start living more eco-friendly, like a 10 percent discount on a customers' purchase if they arrived by foot, bike, or bus. On Oct. 23, the shop will host the screening of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, a feature film focusing on table-top gamers. Tuesday nights the shop hosts game night, just good clean family fun with board games. Thursday nights the shop transforms as it opens the store to a live music night where customers can experience local musicians and kick back, worry-free, while they enjoy treats as wide ranging as a hummus sandwich to a cappuccino, all while supporting local growers of the ingredients. |