Most popular coffee in downtown Seattle

Golden chandeliers hang from the ceilings and brown wooden floors make the coffee shop unique. The Tiffany green bike with the basket of French bread on the wall in the section where waffles are made is symbolic of the coffee shops in Paris and Italy. Customers rush in and out to get their lattes while others sit and relax. Espresso machines roar, while baristas pour steaming milk creating images of bunnies, puppies, and flowers. The fridge is stocked with goodies of Babybel cheese, cheesecake and colorful macaroons.

Moore Coffee is a place where every single space is occupied by the customers. As customers wait for their orders in the front of the shop, the back section is filled with people while families laugh and converse. In addition to serving sweets, they offer savory dishes such as sandwiches with creamy brie cheese and soft bread with turkey, arugula and avocado. Their irresistible dishes and coffee is what keeps the place busy and can only be found in Downtown Seattle.

The shop didn’t just bloom from nowhere- it has taken a lot of dedication and effort to be in the position it is now. Lupe Chavez, the owner of Moore Coffee’s path wasn’t exactly an easy one. Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico Chavez moved to the United States in 1995. Chavez received help from friends, but struggled with not knowing the English language. “The only problem was that I didn’t speak English, I didn’t speak the language.”

Chavez, the owner of Moore Coffee, along with his 5 employees work tirelessly to serve their customers orders. Chavez’s first job was at the James Moore building at Nite Lite, where he worked as a dishwasher for four months. Chavez was the only Latino-limiting his ability to communicate, but he quickly realized he must learn the English language.

It wasn’t until the space next to the Moore hotel became vacant that Chavez came up with the idea of opening a coffee shop. In June 2011, Chavez rented the first half of the shop’s space from his boss Mike, bought his first espresso machine and opened in September 2011. In 2014, the coffee shop was recognized in Food Network Magazine as the second best coffee shop in Seattle and was recognized by local news channels. The accomplishments have been so successful that on November 2016 Chavez open a second coffee shop. “We’re really busy and have a lot of regular customers so I decided to open a second one.” Chavez said. He credits his success to his family supporters that are his wife Alma Jimenez, daughter Fritzi Chavez, and son Mexamer Chavez.

A frequent customer, Cindi Garnica, first learned about Moore Coffee through Instagram and fell in love with their latte art.

“The place in general is really relaxing combining this and a cup of coffee is what I really enjoy the most.” Garnica said.

The shop also supplies weekly coffee to the Patagonia customers in downtown Seattle, who attend their yoga class on Sunday mornings from 9 am to 10 am. The coffee and classes are both free. “They definitely enjoy having coffee, they drink all of it!” said Abby, an employee of Patagonia.

Chavez is one example of the many Latinos that travel to the United States in search of success and has accomplished it. He is an inspirational person that has overcome a hardship in life and has worked hard in order to be the auspicious man he is now. When asked about what would he tell all the people who believe it’s difficult to follow their dreams he said in Spanish, “I can be an example for Latinos who want to start a business because if I can do it you can.”