The decision to sell didn’t come easily. “We love Sapor. We love what we created — not just because we made it, but because of what it has become, and we felt an obligation to our customers and to what we’ve created,” says Jeannie. “It was a bittersweet experience. We knew it was the right decision for the two of us and our future family, but also needed to honor what Sapor was.”
The Sprengers began Sapor with the goal of brewing craft coffee, and many of their concept drinks allowed the flavor of coffee to shine through instead of masking it with flavored syrups. The cafe boasts a reverse-osmosis water filtration system, further enhancing the coffee's flavor. And from the start, it exclusively used beans from Sweet Bloom, the specialty coffee roaster owned by Caleb’s uncle, which is also where he got his start as a barista.
Because of COVID, the hours shortened at Sapor. “It wasn’t realistic to be open that long, and when we did that, we were given some extra time that we didn’t have before to pursue and start exploring other possibilities for ourselves. That really helped encourage us to develop in other ways that prepared us for this next season of our lives,” says Jeannie.
Scenes from a Friday afternoon coffee cupping, which are open to the public.
Sapor Coffee and Concepts
“We liked him — his personality and his vibe — and as we started talking about the potential of him owning Sapor, he wanted to continue what we’d built in terms of the creativity. He didn’t even want to change the name of the cafe. It was exactly what we were looking for,” says Caleb.
This isn’t Nuntanavooth’s first time owning a coffee shop. In 2016, he and several friends started Sonder Coffee. Although he had no previous coffee experience at the time, he learned a lot over the next four years, and even took up roasting before selling his shares of the company in 2020. He’s also been around the service industry for most of his life; for 25 years and counting, his family has owned J's Noodles Star Thai in Denver and Star Thai in Lakewood.
"I really enjoy building that relationship [with customers] and talking to people, and a coffee shop is the perfect space to do that. To be honest, I didn't know anything about coffee when I started. I didn’t know coffee could taste like this — specialty coffee, at least. So I researched, I talked to people and built many good relationships around town," says Nuntanavooth. "I’m thankful that people like Scott at Queen City was really open to teaching me about coffee at that time."
The biggest change at Sapor so far is that it no longer serves exclusively Sweet Bloom, but is instead a multi-roaster cafe. In addition to Sweet Bloom, Servant Coffee is now part of the lineup, and Nuntanavooth may offer his own coffee in the future as well.
Nuntanavooth has also brought in more food options from local vendors. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, mochi from pop-up Riceboxx is available and pairs particularly well with tea. Doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches from Pandemic Donuts are offered more regularly during the week.
Overall, though, it's business as usual at Sapor, thanks to the seamless ownership transition. While the Sprengers aren't pouring drinks for customers anymore, you may find them on the other side of the bar, enjoying coffee and conversation in the business they built, which is in good hands under Nuntanavooth's watch.
Sapor Coffee & Concepts is located at 2795 Speer Boulevard and is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit saporcoffee.com.
