[ Food & Drink ][ Living ]

Coffee time with something for everyone

The beauty of a downtown like ours is the ever-expanding offerings from local restaurants, bakeries and shops. When the mood strikes for a coffee, tea, or other drink, the options here are as good as they come. Let’s take a quick tour and visit three spots.

BREW COFFEE BAR

We’re starting over on E. Chatham Street in the Cary Theater building where Brew Coffee Bar calls home.

Tyler Montague is the manager and he says it’s not just about good coffee and drink (which they have plenty) but it’s about community for them.

“We’re about our community, while serving a really good quality product, we just love to connect with our people and hope they have a great experience here,” said Tyler.

The shop has everything from tea to pour-overs, espresso, cold brew and beer and wine, which means they always have something for everyone.

“We have a lot of people who work from here, like working from home but maybe you need a change of scenery. It’s nice to be in a place where people feel comfortable doing that,” added Tyler.

Tyler said his go-to is the pour-over, be he also like a quad-shot of espresso over ice. If you need a snack while at Brew, don’t sleep on the Peanut Butter Banana toast, and ask them about how you can join their mug club!

ESTEAMED COFFEE

As we head over to Academy, there’s Esteamed Coffee, a relatively new spot downtown. Esteamed is in a cottage from 1940’s that was recently renovated for the coffee shop (you might remember this as the building that Everything’s Better Monogrammed used to call home).

Angie Hudson and Tamara Lapsley have been friends for 25-years, and now set out on the new journey of owning this unique cafe. Their mission is to connect employees with various disabilities and our community at large, in such a way that the lives of all are enriched through their fellowship in a warm, welcoming environment.

“Angie and I have different things that brought us to this point. For me, we have family friends and their son had a massive stroke. I am a speech psychologist and I was helping him, while at the same time I ended up at Bitty and Beau’s in Wilmington, and it left a real impression on me,” said Tamara.

Their dedication to their staff is a good as their coffee, with their speciality salted caramel latte as a must-try.

“Providing a workforce development program for the 70-80% of people with disabilities who don’t currently have a place to work, that’s what drives us. This is so much more than a coffee shop and we have been blown away by community support. We have 18 employees with disabilities, the vast majority have not had a job opportunity before working here,” said Angie.

Be sure to swing by and meet their awesome staff. We got to meet Lad Alexander when we were there. Lad says he’s 50% spokesperson and 50% cashier (he’s also the unofficial mayor of Cary, according to friends).

“What’s cool is the atmosphere of seeing people you know. It’s a true pride and joy,” said Lad.

PECK AND PLUME

Across the street sits the Mayton Inn. Did you know they’re open for business for a great cup of coffee in a unique location, that you can only find in downtown Cary?

The restaurant at the Mayton, now under the name and brand of Peck and Plume, is open for breakfast daily, and with that you have a few amazing atmosphere options. You can’t duplicate the study that they boast at the Mayton, and in addition to the traditional dining space, there is also the patio out back with views of the ever-expanding park.

“I think the combination of the study and the patio space makes this an appealing location for a coffee meeting,” said Amie Zanzano, the General Manager of the Mayton Inn.

“We believe in local partnership, that’s why we have Raleigh-based Larry’s Coffee and Michael’s English muffins here,” added Amie.

Definitely add the Mayton Inn and Peck and Plume to your downtown Cary coffee spots.

As you can see, there’s a little something for everyone here.

Check out our Downtown Cary Directory for more coffee spots