by Kyle Garvey
As part of Simply Living’s ongoing series on the benefits of buying goods and services from locally owned businesses, I wanted to showcase a few of Columbus’s independent coffee roasters. There’s nothing like sipping on a great-tasting mug of hot coffee while realizing it supports local Columbus excellence!
*One Line Coffee perfectly exemplifies ‘Think Global, Buy Local’ because, for each great-tasting cup, they do a full investigation of where exactly it came from, how it was grown, etc. One Line really brews some great beverages at their locations in Franklinton (471 W Rich St) or in the Short North (745 N High St). https://www.onelinecoffee.com/
*Upper Cup in Olde Town East (79 Parsons Ave) as well as in Gahanna (121 Mill St) is a cool company offering hand-crafted deliciousness! Run for nearly a decade by Michael Habte, who’s originally from Eritrea and was inspired by his mother’s traditional ceremonies, Upper Cup began selling beans in 2010 and opened a retail location in 2011. http://www.uppercupcoffee.com/
*Luck Bros offers shipping and pickup nowadays at their Grandview Heights location (1101 W 1st Ave). Always delicious and smart. They have some fun in addition to great coffee: three sizes (“Awesome” for 12 oz. “Indecisive” for 16 oz. or “Party” for 20 oz.) Sustainable too? Fair trade too? You bet. https://www.luckbroscoffee.com/
*Mission Coffee Co. in Italian Village (1051 N 4th St) is a devotee’s dream, a place to seriously ‘geek out’ over certain beans, preparations, etc. From Costa Rica to Nicaragua to Ethiopia, Mission carefully selects only the best and most eco-friendly ingredients. They’re about education as much as selling great coffee. https://www.missioncoffeeco.com/
*Global Gallery is in Clintonville (3535 N High St), bringing you a great cup of joe. Definitely indebted to art as well as artists (free WiFi!), Global Gallery always sources their coffee from fair trade farms. http://www.globalgallerycolumbus.com/coffeeshop
*Crimson Cup, with Cbus locations in Clintonville (4541 N High St) and Upper Arlington (2468 Northwest Blvd), supports more than 350 unique coffee houses, coffee shops, cafés, bakeries, and specialty food stores. They’re no strangers to the value of locally owned business at Crimson! Owner Greg Ubert literally wrote the book on cultivating and building great local coffee. https://www.crimsoncup.com/
*Brioso Coffee on High St (53 N High) or on Long St (329 E Long) is nearly 20 years old! Whether it’s the coffee itself, some merch or equipment, some gift cards, or the chance to learn a little history or how-to, Brioso has you covered! https://briosocoffee.com/
*Stauf’s has so many locations — and so much great coffee on its menu! In German Village (627 S 3rd St), in Grandview Heights (1277 Grandview Ave), in Victorian Village / Dennison Place (1334 Neil Ave), in North Market (59 Spruce St), Stauf’s is brewing up some fantastic coffee. https://www.staufs.com/ They also own Cup O Joe (2990 N High St), a simple and very nice place as well. https://www.cupojoe.com/
*Roosevelt Coffee — downtown (300 E Long St), in Franklinton (462 W Broad St), and at Olentangy River Brewing Company (303 Green Meadows Dr South) — proudly supports a whole bunch of charitable initiatives — fighting hunger, cleaning up water, stopping human trafficking — so you can be sure each delicious sip was roasted with care! https://www.rooseveltcoffee.org/
*Highline Coffee Co. in Worthington (693 High St) has its own Art Space looking out onto the Village Green. Highline’s just as passionate about cultivating a great establishment as it is about brewing great drinks. http://highlinecoffeeco.com/cms/
So shift your shopping: a 10% shift from chain to local keeps $312 million in Franklin County – enough to create 5000 new jobs! Be a conscious consumer. When more of our dollars circulate locally, communities create more wealth and become more resilient and sustainable.