This new Tacoma coffee shop offers more than java. It moonlights as a ‘dry speakeasy’

Dry January will run year-round at a new Tacoma coffee shop that serves house roasts and custom tea blends in flavors like s’mores and ginger peach.

Soulberry Coffee House, which replaces Heritage Coffee and Plant House, is the first brick-and-mortar cafe for Soulberry Coffee Roasters, established in 2021 with a growing list of private labels for small businesses including Red Barn in Puyallup, Art of Crunch in Tacoma and Cup of Jones in Graham.

The cafe’s discreet location — tucked behind Pacific Avenue at 2310 Court A — means it needed to reach beyond the caffeinated bean, said owner Terri Quintana Jessen.

“Since I roast, it made sense to keep the coffee thing going,” she said. “I didn’t want to open a bar, but I understand that this needs to be a destination.”

To that end, she has added the moniker of “dry speakeasy,” stocking the shelves and back bar with a growing collection of zero-proof spirits, nonalcoholic wines and other craft beverages.

Descriptors vary, as these products are obviously not regulated by the same tenets as alcohol. It also has plenty to do with production methods and the target audience: Some products are produced like their alcoholic namesakes only to have the ethanol later removed (a process called dealcoholization), while others use alternative bases and ingredients to mimic the look, aroma, taste and texture of the real thing.

At Soulberry, already you will find about a dozen “sans alcohol” wines or wine alternatives, including the sparkling lines of the Italian Prima Pavé and French Bloom. Bottles also hail from as nearby as California (Kally) and Seattle (Joyus). On the “spirits” side, favorites so far focus on the herbal level of this young industry, such as the ginger-laced Tenneyson and Pathfinder Hemp and Root, the latter a common sight on cocktail menus despite its zero-proof nature.

You can have a glass on site or scan the retail section for at-home enjoyment. Not sure what any of these things taste like? No problem: “Sampling is not underrated!” said Jessen, who is happy to pour you a taste.

Though not sober herself, Jessen described herself as a light drinker who noticed the lack of third spaces beyond coffee shops for those who abstain for whatever reason or need. Since opening in December, for instance, she has welcomed students from neighboring University of Washington-Tacoma in search of an alternative hangout for studying or meeting with friends.

Studies have shown a decrease in younger generations’ tendency toward alcohol, leading to what some have deemed the “sober curious” movement. According to a Gallup report published last summer, 62% of adults under age 35 drink only sometimes — down from 72% in the early 2000s. They also report drinking less frequently, while excess drinking has also dropped among this age group.

The driving factors behind the decline are myriad, but some experts have pointed to broader lifestyle shifts that promote being healthy — both physically and mentally — as well as a shedding of the cultural stigma sometimes attached to sobriety. The beverage industry today is also simply awash in new products, from flavored seltzers to so-called functional drinks, and bartenders are putting real care into low- and no-alcohol concoctions.

“I think the want is here,” said Jessen, referencing the recent debut of Seattle’s first NA bottle shop, Cheeky and Dry. Similar shops and bars dedicated to booze-free bottles now dot cities across the country, from Milwaukee to Richmond and Charleston to Phoenix. In Washington state, Kindred Spirits opened in Richland two years ago. Sales in this sub-sector jumped 20% from 2021 to 2022, according to Nielsen IQ.

A former payroll administrator who began roasting coffee more than a decade ago on a cast-iron skillet, Jessen stumbled largely by accident — or TikTok tumble — into the increasingly popular world of dry drinks. She knew the idea had legs in part through her friend Sarah Lara, whose family created Altitude Beverages, an Oregon-based brand that cans CBD-infused tea in flavors like Mountain Mule (ginger and lime) and Paloma (grapefruit and basil).

Lara works at Soulberry as the morning barista; with her afternoon colleague, they are tinkering to flesh out a formal menu of NA cocktails.

If you want to take a bottle home but are unsure how to use it, most of the brands have recipes and ideas on their websites and social media pages.

That gingery Tenneyson, for example, plays nicely with lime and soda water. From Colombia, try the Caleño Dark and Spicy shaken with coconut milk, pineapple and lime. In flavors like mango passionfruit and jalapeno, the margarita mixers from Dirty Pelican can easily be consumed over ice, splashed with soda or mixed with real tequila. The Nightcap from Three Spirit, a London-based company that makes what it calls “functional spirit alternatives,” can be stirred with a few drops of bitters (find NA brands at Soulberry, too!) and finished with an orange peel for an almost-old-fashioned.

The coffee shop opens a touch earlier than many in the area, and Jessen plans to extend evening hours soon. Working with the Cascade Music Alliance, she anticipates frequent live music nights. She also hopes to partner with local food trucks and is in the process of expanding her own snack menu.

SOULBERRY COFFEE HOUSE & DRY SPEAKEASY

▪ 2310 Court A, Tacoma, 206-635-7157, soulberrycoffeehouse.com

▪ Current Hours: Monday-Friday 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (open until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and until 7 p.m. Wednesday), Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and 6-10 p.m.

▪ Details: coffee shop with house roasts from Soulberry Coffee Roasters, custom loose-leaf tea bundled to order, pastries and light bites — plus NA bottle shop and bar

▪ Follow instagram.com/soulberrycoffeehouse for event updates

This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 10:00 AM.