Independent coffeehouses are growing!

Independent coffee shops spreading in Las Vegas Valley

By CAITLIN MCGARRY, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

March 4, 2012

Tucked behind a nondescript door in the back of a Boulder City industrial center 20 miles from Las Vegas, there’s a whole wide world of beans — sacks of imported, green coffee beans piled to the ceiling.

Next door is the roastery, where a shiny black Diedrich roasting machine is caramelizing the beans, some from Ethiopia, others from Guatemala. The rich aroma of roasted beans competes with warm blueberry notes of the morning’s drip coffee and the chocolaty scent of espresso. 

It’s a sunny Monday — roasting day at Colorado River Coffee Roasters.

Erik Anderson funnels the beans into the Diedrich, monitoring the exact temperature inside on a laptop computer. Roasting is an art and a science — some of the beans are roasted at a low temperature, some high, some low and then high, all in the quest to achieve just the right flavor. There’s no second chance if something goes wrong.

Anderson is part of a rare breed in Southern Nevada. His father, Colorado River owner Don Anderson, is one of a handful of coffee roasters in Southern Nevada, and the only one in metropolitan Las Vegas who roasts for widespread commercial distribution. Colorado River’s beans are grounds for lattes and cappuccinos from Strip eateries like Carnevino to independent coffeehouses like The Beat and Sambalatte

Strip show aerialist makes owning coffeehouse her second act … Vegas-style!

Holley Steeley is a dancer AND a coffeehouse owner!  What a great life

Article By Sonya Padgett
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Posted: Apr. 29, 2012 | 2:03 a.m.
Updated: Apr. 29, 2012 | 9:50 a.m.

Click here to read the full article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal

….. Running a cafe isn’t known to be a stress-free endeavor. And the 17-hour days Steeley’s putting in right now seem far from relaxing. But she knew what she was getting into. Before finalizing her business plans, Steeley worked at a local coffee chain for 18 months. She made $8 an hour but learned some business lessons that were nearly invaluable. She learned how to open and close a store, how to balance the books, make a schedule and brew coffee.

“The worst thing is to open a coffee shop and realize you hate it,” she says.

Steeley wanted to be different from other coffee shops so she researched, traveled and visited a lot of coffee shops.

First, a coffee shop had to have good coffee. She found that the best coffee was made the old-fashioned way, with just hot water poured over a filter full of coffee grounds. In only two minutes, a fresh cup is ready to go.

All of her favorite cafes along the coast of California use this method, called a brew bar. In addition to good coffee, Steeley realized a cafe has to have a warm and inviting atmosphere.

So for Holley’s Cuppa, she set about creating a fun vibe. Cafe tables, chairs and leather couches provide abundant seating. A stack of well-used board games sits on a coffee table while books and art fill the empty spaces. Thursdays are open mic night and once a month, a book club holds meetings in the coffee shop. Steeley plans to start hosting a game night, although impromptu Twister competitions already take place.