A Love Letter To Stellar Coffee Company

There's a place in Roswell, NM I call home. And no, it's not a house. It's a cafe.

You walk in and the walls are bright yellow, the bar is a polished chrome, and the barista is a young hip bearded dude. You could order your coffee, play the resident guitar, and chat up some of the locals.

Sounds like your typical cafe. But it's not.

How I Found Stellar and Met Anne Baker

It was a blazing spring day on the high plaines of Southern New Mexico and I had to get out of the house and write. I was done with Starbucks. It's a crowded place in the mornings and you can't get a thing done.

I went downtown to the Pecos Flavors Winery hoping they had coffee. I was out of luck.

Josh Ragsdale, one of the owners of Pecos Flavors Winery, heard my disappointment when he revealed he had no coffee. "Do you know Anne Baker," he asked. "No," I replied, "who is that?"

"Well, she's opening a coffee bar two doors down and I think she's having a soft opening today. You could go down and check."

I packed up my computer and almost passed the entrance to Anne Baker's place when walking there. It sits back in an alcove and shares a building with an office. Back then there was no sign or window art to point the way.

I pushed through the heavy glass door to find a fairly sterile environment. There was one table and two chairs, a stainless steel work table as a counter, a massive espresso machine, and an empty glass front pastry cooler.

A tall, fit woman with wavy blond hair stood behind the counter drinking from a glass Ball jar and talking to a friend.

This all seemed a bit strange. But Josh had said this was a "soft" opening.

The oddness of the situation disappeared as soon as I began talking to the woman behind the counter. Her name was Anne Baker and she told me all about the coffee she was going to sell and the business she was going to build.

She told me about the roaster she sourced from in East Texas and how they mainly sold single origin beans.

And then she gave me a Ball Jar filled with the best coffee I've ever tasted.

I was hooked.

How Stellar Coffee Company Became Home

You know how in Friends the main characters always hung out at their local coffee shop? You know that camaraderie, fun, and beauty? Take that and multiply it by ten, that's what Stellar Coffee is like if you're a regular.

After Anne's soft opening, I spent all my days off there. I would sit in the corner and work on my novel. But eventually it stopped being a place to work and became a place to hang out.

Anne's HR skills are epic. And she treats her employees like family.

While I never worked at Stellar (some employees tried to tempt me), I was a part of the Stellar family by proxy (Anne's first customer). But I wasn't an artist like those behind the counter.

Most Stellar employees are creatives of some sort. And it shows in their coffee making skills as well.

Latte art is a mind blowing skill. How does one draw a dragon with just milk foam and espresso? Beats me!

But that's the beauty and creativity I saw every day at Stellar Coffee Company.

Anne Baker Built a Community

Stellar Coffee Company is now a community hub in Roswell, NM. Any time of day you come in, you'll see prominent figures from the community and other well known locals.

If you're a local, you'll see your friends and spend more time with them than you planned.

And best of all, you'll be able to enjoy the best cup of coffee in the universe.

So, if you're in the Roswell area, get down to Stellar Coffee Company.