From The Ground Up

What diverse crowd this coffee shop gathered, people interviewing, ladies catching up, and what I can only guess was a daily or weekly coffee meeting of about 8 grandpas. My latte was delicious but quite over priced, $ 5.02 for a 12 oz soy latte, that is worse than the ‘bucks! Biggest complaint was leaving smelling like a church basement… Faintly burnt coffee and eggy, I’ll be having flash backs all day!

I love supporting local businesses, but I have to say this place left me wanting more. For the good, my latte was smooth and tasty. I got a coconut pecan muffin top which was just okay. The taste was good, but it was really dry. I do like that they have gluten free options though. The atmosphere reminds me of my grandmothers house. It is outdated, but very relaxed. I think what can set local businesses apart from the larger chains is service, but this place did not have it.
I don’t see myself going out of my way to come here again unless I am waiting for my car at Discount tires.

Like others have said, coffee is decent but the service is bad enough to never want to come back.
Crabby Old Lady just stared at me as I was speaking to the barista. After ordering and expecting to pay, she stared daggers at my two year old as I pointed at letters for him to say. Got our drinks and had to remind them that we hadn’t paid yet.
Espresso came out a little burnt, but it seemed like COL was training the reasonably nice barista. Always willing to forgive an imperfect pour, they can’t be perfect every time.
Glad to hear her cold stare wasn’t exclusive to us, but this will be our first and only visit there.

I waited until I finished that killer breakfast burrito before I passed any judgements. Though, it may be small, it is feisty (and satiating, at that). The salsa has a nice little kick too. The soft leather chairs near the window have the option for blinds to block out the sun. I’ll be spending some time here, hitting the books and chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool.
Great job, guys!

If you’re not paying attention to the signage you may pass this place on CO blvd, but it’s definitely worth finding. I love their GF muffin tops-​yummo! I also love the fact that a large latte comes with 4 shots of espresso and you get a free homemade gingersnap to boot! The staff is also very friendly!

This is my favorite coffee shop. I love it here! It has a warm, welcoming, neighborhood feel. The baristas are all super nice and know the names and drink orders of all the regulars, a sign of a great place. They even make their own food here from scratch. Try the sweet potato burrito. And when you order a coffee drink, you get a free homemade gingersnap. It’s a great place for business meetings, working on a laptop, meeting a friend for a chat, or taking in your kid for some quality time together — all of which I’ve done.

Really good coffee, comfortable atmosphere. They go the extra with coffee ice cubes for iced coffee, now that is thinking! I have not had all the food selections, but the ones I have tried have been very good.
The only reason I didn’t give it 5 is the staff is a little hit and miss. Sometimes you come in, and they are doing things in the back, takes a bit of time to come out front. It would be nice to see them interact with me the same way, get the idea there are a lot of part-​timers working. Now Sandy, whoa that is the queen of service, discussion and speed.
I am a regular!

Had a cold brew, with coffee ice cubes which are awesome! Good service, comfy establishment.

Nice non-​Starbucks-​like coffee shop. It feels more mom-​n-​popish… The menu changes often or maybe it’s the prices. The in site food items vary from breakfast burritos, to bagels and quiche. They also have a regular assortment of muffin tops. The workers/​owner are a bit boisterous and are not afraid to talk in their outside voices at times but it’s not too bad. Early closure on Sunday’s (1pm). They also have at least two leather chairs which is always a sign of a good coffee shop to me. The wall art also changes often.

The lady at the counter was incredibly nice and patient with my annoying questions «do you think the breakfast sandwich is better with bagel or muffin or corn bread?» I made a good choice along with her guidance cause my bagel sandwich was SO DELICIOUS. I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic she did cause it was just egg, jack pepper cheese and tomato and it was THE BOMB. Or maybe I was really starving at 3:30pm… Also, my Chai Latte (which I am a connoisseur) was on point. She made it a little spicy. Mmmm
I was waiting for my car at Discount Tires and was pleasantly surprised with my snack at this random coffee shop. Will return only next appointment! :)

I waited to review this place until I went in a few times. Every time I was hoping the next would be a little better. I won’t lie, I love Starbucks, but deep down id prefer to support a local business. I found this place about two months ago, driving by and made it a point to go here… Easily passing by 5+ of those green shimmering signs that often call to me. The coffee here is pretty good, the hot ones at least. I want impressed with my iced latte. The breakfast burrito.meh. But then again I have a thing about tortillas when they get wet. It was soaked in green chili, then obviously refrigerated, then warmed up. Which is fine most of the time, but all the chili had soaked the tortilla making it damp.
My biggest let down, the service. Lukewarm and uninviting baristas. There is a girl there, that both times we interacted (separate trips), when I thanked her said nothing back, and just walked away. It was like they were only able to say 5 words or would die or something, «Can I help you»? Followed but the price, «3.82». The end. It was odd. Small businesses have the power to really enhance the customers experience. Making a genuine connection. But left untapped, you’re now just a coffee shop that’s 10 minutes out of my way, and I’m not willing to make the drive anymore.

Recently found this place and love it! Nice cozy little coffee shop I go to when I need to get some work done and don’t want to be in the office. Best tasting pumpkin spiced latte ever AND they serve Bahkti chai which is hard to find.

Never say «tall» in this establishment. Even after I apologized and said small, the barista was extremely rude. I guess she didn’t understand the importance of customer service. Each step in the transaction was met with an attitude unbecoming of a person who deals with human beings. Needless to say first and last time I will come to this «neighborhood» coffee house.

From The Ground Up has the BEST Pumpkin Spice Latte at any of the coffee shops in Denver. My boyfriend and I go to a different coffee shop every Sunday and this has by far been the best Coffee so far! Their Mountain Mocha is to die for! My boyfriend LOVED it and he only likes cold coffee! It is kind of set back in the strip mall right after the University Center. It just says «Coffee Shop»

Good service, great drinks, nice music, and a very chill environment. Good for coffee dates, yet quiet enough for a solid study session.

The coffee is good, I haven’t got much else.
I would like to try the food sometime.
glad to see non corporate coffee places survive.
Feels like a meeting place for many people and groups and they try to get connected to the neighborhood.
Try it sometime!

Good Coffee, free grounds, nice seating. Quite a nice little hole in the wall coffee shop.

Best local coffee shop though annoying they don’t have a baby changing table. Prices are comparable to every other brand name coffee shop. I was a little surprised when I asked to have my coffee sweetened she didn’t know what that was but she offered me regular sugar. So I asked for simple syrup or sweetener and she said they didn’t have it. oh well.

Nice local spot. Friendly staff. Good coffee.
Warm and cozy. Great place to sit and gather your thoughts on a Sunday morning or get some work done on your laptop.
Will have to try to breakfast burritos or homemade quiche next time.

This place has great coffee, which is the only reason it gets two stars instead of zero.
One woman who works here is so incredibly unhappy you can feel it when you walk in the door. Maybe she is the owner? I walked in today, no other customers around except for someone sitting by the window drinking coffee.
Me: Hi, how are you?
Her: *blank stare, no smile*
Me: *takes off sunglasses, thinks maybe she just didn’t hear me, I can be a low talker* Hi! How are you doing?
Her: Good. *annoyed, blank stare continues*
Seriously, I felt like I had just ruined her entire day by walking into her coffee shop. I was tempted to walk out but didn’t. I ordered my drink, paid, she walked away without a thank you or smile.
The other barista was super nice, and offered me a cookie. I thought maybe this was a peace offering, since her co worker had just been so awful to me, but after reading other Unilocal reviews I learned that’s not the case.
Unless maybe she always needs to make peace offerings because the other woman is ALWAYS so awful?
I want to patronize small, local coffee shops but not sure I will return here if it means dealing with Crabby Lady Who Seems Annoyed by the Presence of Customers.