But, with everyone working from home, its main customer base was suddenly gone, leaving the building a ghost town. The shop is in an obscure-enough location that most people didn’t know it was there. The two knew that they needed to give people motivation to come find them. And that’s just what they did.
Here are six reasons to visit Grounds for Dismissal:
Coffee flights
The couple, who moved to Colorado and married in 2018, grew up in Texas, a land they say is rich in flights — but they'd never seen a coffee flight before. “We’re from Houston, where there are margarita flights, taco flights, all types of flights. So that’s why we had the idea, and we used the inspiration from back home to build it,” says Beauchamp. The shop offers three different varieties of flights, including chocolate lovers, Fan Faves, and a seasonal flight with rotating drinks.
Each comes with four 12-ounce drinks — enough to share with a friend, which is what Sevier and Beauchamp envisioned when they created the concept, though that increasingly hasn’t been the case. The flights have become popular on social media, especially on Instagram and TikTok. “A lot of people come for the photo op. They don’t care what it tastes like, they just like the way it looks,” says Sevier. “It’s just a bonus that it tastes good.”
Sevier adds that presentation is key, because all of the drinks need to be picture-perfect. “We only have five employees, and they all have to be trained pretty extensively to get on bar because the coffee flights are high-maintenance. ... It’s essentially four drinks that you’re making at once for one person,” she explains. “Our baristas are awesome, and they care and want every person to be excited about every drink, but they’re working their butts off.”
The flights cater more to those who like sugary, flavored coffee drinks, like the Fan Faves flight, which includes the shop's four best-selling lattes: white chocolate lavender, strawberry shortcake, Nutella latte and honey vanilla chai with cinnamon sweet cream cold foam. For those who prefer their coffee black, it serves up high-quality, organic and sustainably roasted coffee from Solar Roast out of Pueblo (though it won't come in a flight).
The food
Adding a food menu was also part of the pandemic pivot; the shop originally only offered grab-and-go items. In fact, the space wasn’t even outfitted with a kitchen, but Sevier and Beauchamp have added one by piecing together equipment they ordered from Amazon. Now Grounds for Dismissal serves breakfast all day, and everything is made fresh in-house, though it does still offer pastries and Einstein's bagels for a quick bite if you're in a hurry.
In addition to traditional breakfast fare like tacos and real fruit smoothies, by far the most popular and decadent option is the French Toast Griller. Customers can choose a savory or sweet sandwich; both are served on French toast with bacon, egg and cheese, topped with powered sugar and served with a side of syrup for dipping.
The meet-cute
Sevier and Beauchamp met and started dating during their freshman year of high school. It may seem cliché, but the two always dreamed of moving away and opening a business of their own.
They bonded with their homeroom teacher, an ex-lawyer turned English teacher, who believed in their dream from the get-go. “Even then, we told him, 'We’re gonna go somewhere and open up a business,'” recalls Sevier. Upon graduating, the two moved to Denver, and Beauchamp began working for Ink! Coffee. After a short time, she was promoted to manager, overseeing up to three Ink! locations, including the one inside of the Denver Highlands building.
Then, in 2019, when Beauchamp and Sevier got word that Ink! was closing unexpectedly, they took matters into their own hands and approached the landlord with their proposition to take over the space. At the time, they were only twenty years old.
It was a quick turnaround. Ink! closed on a Friday, and on Monday, Savier and Beauchamp opened their coffee shop, which they named in homage to their former teacher and mentor. “He joked that we should open [a coffee shop] across the street from a school and call it Grounds for Dismissal,” says Savier. Though many have told them they’re too young, “he always told us we could do it, that the world is so big." Now, not only have the duo secured a three-year lease on their space versus month-to-month, they're also looking to expand.
Grounds for Dismissal
“Before COVID, we were mainly for the office building, and they didn’t want to sit down,” Sevier notes. “Now that we’re kind of popular, we’re looking into getting another location." One of the perks of being in an office building is that they’ve got a lot of space that was designed with work in mind. That means there are lots of outlets and even a conference room that’s free to use — first come, first served.
“This space isn’t genuinely meant to hold this many people. It’s bigger than most coffee shops, for sure, but we've kind of transitioned into something that isn’t just a coffee shop," Sevier explains. "Half of our clientele want to sit and eat breakfast with family, and half of the people think it’s a coffee shop and want to sit and work, and when we mix all those people together, it’s either too loud or there isn’t enough space.”
Plans are in the works for a second location, possibly in Cherry Creek or DTC, but ideally somewhere nearby. “We didn’t know if we’d be successful. Now that [Grounds for Dismissal] is, we’re kind of needing another space. It’s a positive problem to have,” acknowledges Sevier.
It's a "hidden gem"
When they were rethinking their business plan after the beginning of the pandemic, Sevier and Beauchamp had to rethink their customer base. "We had to think, who's going to come into come into this weird office building, because it's kind of hard to find tucked away," says Beauchamp. So they rebranded themselves as a "hidden gem," he says. That strategy, along with the viral coffee flights, have helped them stay afloat.
Because it's located just twenty minutes from the airport off of I-225, it also gets a lot of traffic from visitors. "People who are here to see the mountains don’t always realize that they have to drive an hour or more to get to where they’re actually going," Sevier notes. Although there are locally owned businesses nearby, there aren't many other coffee options besides chains. "I think that we’re just one of the most popular coffee shops that pops up when they’re driving through."
The events
This month, you can get in the holiday spirit and check out Grounds for Dismissal at the same time with its S'mores and Hot Chocolate Movie Nights. For $30, you get a s’mores flight and unlimited hot chocolate while watching a classic holiday movie. On Saturday, December 17, it will be screening Home Alone, Polar Express and Nightmare Before Christmas.
Grounds for Dismissal is located at 10065 East Harvard Avenue and is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit gfdcoffee.com.
