LoHi’s Method Coffee opens second location along Santa Fe Drive

The Art District on Santa Fe has a new coffee shop, while another has canceled plans to reopen.

Method Coffee Roasters, which has operated in LoHi since 2018, opened its second location this week at 1201 Santa Fe Drive in Lincoln Park. The 1,200-square-foot space was previously home to The Molecule Effect, which also sold coffee.

“It’s better if it’s already been a coffee shop. We don’t have to do the whole process,” Method owner Sarah Zapien said.

Alex Rawal founded Method at 2011 W. 32nd Ave. Zapien said she bought the business in 2021. Prior to the acquisition, Zapien was importing green coffee and selling it to roasters around Denver, while dreaming of her own shop.

“Coffee has always been on my mind,” she said.

The Molecule Effect moved out of the space earlier this year after butting heads with the building’s owner. Signs were posted immediately next door at 1225 Santa Fe Drive, in the retail space within a new apartment building, indicating that The Molecule Effect would be reopening there.

The Molecule Effect co-owner Mark Landman told BusinessDen Tuesday, however, that no longer will happen because Method will be next door.

“They (Method) decided to duplicate our business — being a coffee, wine, art and community spot in a space we occupied for nine years,” Landman said. “We consider ourselves good business people and it’s bad business being right next to each other.”

Landman said he hasn’t decided if Molecule Effect, which also operates in Wash Park, will find a new spot for a second location.

Method’s Zapien said her new location has the same menu and feel as the 1,500-square-foot LoHi location, but it doesn’t have a liquor license yet. A traditional drip coffee costs $3.75, while a regular-sized latte or cold brew is $5.50.

Method pulled in $600,000 in revenue last year. Zapien said she hopes to hit $1 million with the two shops.

Zapien said she sources Method’s coffee beans herself, traveling to Central America and Mexico to meet growers. The beans are roasted at Denver’s MiddleState Coffee, although Zapien hopes to find a third location with room for roasting in the back.

Unlike other shops, Method doesn’t offer dark roast.

“The roasting process is another thing that we pay a lot of attention to … We tend to do more light roast so the coffee maintains all of its notes,” Zapien said.

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