New Coffee Shop Takoma Beverage Co. Opening In April

TAKOMA PARK, MD — A new café is set to bring coffee, tea, wine, beer, cocktails and food to Laurel Avenue this spring. Construction is under way at Takoma Beverage Company, which plans to open in early April, though no specific date is locked in yet.

Patch spoke with co-owner and coffee director Seth Cook, who told us all about the new space.

"We hope that Takoma Park looks to us as a great place to come hang out, meet some new people or old friends, and count on us for offering excellent products that don't just taste great, but have a great story connected to them as well," Cook told Patch.

Cook and his cousin, co-owner and general manager Chris Brown, envision a neighborhood haunt where residents can hang out all day, from breakfast with a coffee and a pastry, to lunchtime with a sandwich and a beer, to cocktails after work, to a meet-up with friends for the evening with a bottle of wine and some cheese and charcuterie.

"Despite neither one of us living in Takoma Park, every time we went to the neighborhood, we really felt at home and wanted to open our business there," Cook said. "The layout of the community, plus the character and values of its citizens, were exactly the reasons we were drawn there."

The coffee will be sourced and roasted by Counter Culture Coffee in Durham; the tea by Rishi Tea in Milwaukee; the dairy by Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, PA; the pastries by Souk in DC; and the breads by Junction Bakery in Alexandria.

The food offerings are curated by Liam LaCivita of Bar Civita. Patrons can expect items like poached egg breakfast sandwiches, breakfast bowls, salads, plated options for dinner and a charcuterie and cheese menu.

The staff will be "true baristas," who will be extensively trained in crafting every drink, from espressos to cocktails, Cook said. Diners can also use the manual brew bar to brew up their own hot drink.

The cocktail menu will have two parts: a classic hour (rather than a happy hour), where five classic cocktails will be $6, and the other part will be specialty cocktails developed in house by the mixologist.

"The wines and beers will have a well rounded offering to meet each desire, while also featuring some intriguing styles that people might not come across regularly," Cook told Patch.

Cook first started his coffee career as the director of coffee at Northside Social in Arlington in 2009. He originally got into the coffee industry with a desire to compete in barista competitions, and competed twice in the US Barista Championships regional competition, numerous TNT’s and Cup Taster Challenges and other coffee events.

Although he was victorious in some of these competitions, Cook quickly realized there was more to the business than "a big trophy or beautiful latte art," he said.

Brown, who was an AP teacher in Montgomery County at this time, started working at Northside as a summer gig in 2012, and ended up staying for four more years.

The two then decided to venture out on their own and start a business, which lead them to Takoma Beverage Co.

Check out Takoma Bev Co at 6917 Laurel Ave. sometime in April.

Photo: Latte Made By Cook