Voxx Coffee on Eastlake is another coffeehouse that until relatively recently, I had driven by too many times to count but never actually stopped there to get a latte.
The two main reasons I think I hadn’t stopped there in the past were;
- I have never heard of Voxx Coffee other than seeing the place when I drive by. Normally when you hear about coffee shops, you tend to hear of the Victrolas, the Vivaces, the Stumptowns, the Caffe Umbrias etc. It is because of the fact that I never really heard about them that sub-consciously I really didn’t want to stop there. This naturally would bring me to the importance of coffeehouses and roasters getting their names out there… but this is a post I will reserve for later
- The other reason I was reluctant to stop there was because the parking situation in that area of Eastlake is not pretty… Finding parking is at times a beast
It was only after I started this blog, in addition to collecting paper coffee cups did I actually determine to stop there and get a latte… and a cup for my collection. So I pass by once with my wife.., though I sat in the car while she got for me the latte. I liked my latte. I thought they did a decent job… They actually use Stumptown Coffee beans… and as I found out later, they use the hair bender blend. I have noticed that a number of other coffeehouses that they serve Stumptown coffee will use the hair bender blend. But other than that I didn’t know too much about the history of the place. Since I wanted to check out the place and talk to the baristas, I knew I was going to have to come back another time…
I have been back a couple of times. The last time I was there was about about two weeks ago. I wanted to ask the barista a little more about the owner of the place since the barista I spoke to the last time I was there had told me that the owner used to own The Sitting Room which is up on Queen Ann.
So this last time as I popped in, I started asking the barista a little more about the owner… and it just so happened that the owner was right there. She was pretty cool and told me a bit about herself and Voxx Coffee.
The owner, Miriam, is originally from Lyon, France and still has the French accent. She told me that after 10 years in the restaurant business, i.e. The Sitting Room, she decided that it was time for a change and hence she started Voxx Coffee. And with the current downturn in the economy, restaurants tend to take quite a hit. At the same time, running a restaurant is a lot more hard work and stress than running a coffeehouse… so she’s pretty happy.
I also asked her about the name, Voxx. The told me that voxx is latin meaning voice and her coffee shop was sort of a play on that… but even more was that Voxx was easy to work with in terms of design and logo work. I thought she was really nice and friendly… and the baristas have all been pretty nice too…
I would certainly go back there. I would like to hang out there and enjoy the atmosphere since the past three times I’ve been there, I have been in a hurry and on my way to appointments or running errands…
Check out what others are saying on Yelp.com about Voxx…
