Huckleberry Roasters Opens a Cafe at the Dairy Block Downtown

Huckleberry Roasters became the newest addition to the Dairy Block, at 18th and Wazee streets, when it opened on January 31. Huckleberry, a staple in Sunnyside since 2011, made a name for itself as a neighborhood gathering place with quality coffee. Owner Koan Goedman made the decision to add the second outpost downtown as a way to further establish what he describes as a strong Denver coffee scene. Goedman, who is also behind Bar Fausto and Port Side (which originally opened as a Huckleberry before shifting to Port Side two years ago), says establishing Huckleberry Dairy Block is his way of sticking a flag in downtown, a way to claim an area for craft coffee that is otherwise dominated by national chains.

Dairy Block is the type of place you'd want to be if the apocalypse happened, with restaurants like Southwestern-inspired Kachina, cocktail bar Poka Lola, the Maven hotel, artisan shops including The Perfect Petal, and the soon-to-open Milk Market, a food hall reminiscent of Avanti and Stanley Marketplace. Now, with a coffee shop, there's little reason to leave. Customers range from people who work and live in nearby buildings to guests at the hotel and visitors to Denver.

With the new location comes a new menu. Offerings outside of the usual include a small food menu with specialty items like housemade gluten-free waffles and toasts — with savory and sweet options for both (yes, that includes avocado toast). Goedman also acknowledges that some people want their coffee as a sweet, blended, dessert-style drink and decided to deliver. Huckleberry's version of a frappucino comes in two varieties thus far: a classic Coffee Shake or Summer in Vietnam, made with coffee, sweetened condensed milk and honey.

Also with a new location comes a new look. There are some design similarities between the two Huckleberry shops, but the tall ceilings and windows looking onto Wazee make Huckleberry Dairy Block feel much larger and more modern. Goedman also built a wraparound wooden bench with his three-year-old in mind. He sees the new spot as a stopping place for families, and sees the bench as a climbing place for children to play while adults enjoy a coffee flight. And when it's no longer twenty degrees outside, a patio will be available for leisure-time seekers.

Overall, it's still the same Huckleberry coffee you know and love, but a little bigger. The address is 1800 Wazee Street, and you can drop by every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.