Gracenote Boston is a standing espresso bar in Boston’s Leather District. Tucked in between Chinatown, South Station, and the Financial District, the shop’s location and flow makes for a convenient and consistent coffee service. We have sought to make a space and culture that people can trust as their daily coffee shop by placing equal priority on hospitality and quality coffee preparation. Gracenote Boston opened fall of 2015 in partnership with Patrick Barter of Gracenote Coffee Roasters and Alessandro Bellino of The Coffee Trike. They hired Zach Cobb and Aprille O’Neill to join the team in the spring of 2015 during the midst of final construction and permitting, and have since partnered with them as owners to make a new four person team.
Has it been a smooth road?
The easiest part about running a coffee shop is the actual task of making coffee. We have had a few key staff members come and go during our 18 months of operation, which at times makes things strenuous. Being a unique space where everyone is involved in all the floor duties, hiring has been a place of growth in patience and learning for us as managers.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We have sought to make a space and culture that people can trust as their daily coffee shop by placing equal priority on hospitality and quality coffee preparation. The shop also has a little something for everyone, whether it be the coffee equipment, the woodworking and pottery, the sound system playing who knows what each day, or a curated tea program. Our goal from the beginning has been to provide excellence without pretension (which can sound pretentious, but that’s just how it goes sometimes).
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes and no. Yes if you are creative and flexible with your plan of executing a retail business. For us, we partnered with Graffito SP to make a shared space, small format retail style shop. With rent prices being so high downtown, cutting our rent price to a manageable number allows our company to be successful while also paying our employees’ wages that allow them to live in Boston.
Contact Info:
- Address: 108 Lincoln St., Boston MA 02111
- Website: www.gracenotecoffee.com
- Email: boston@gracenotecoffee.com
- Instagram: @gracenoteboston
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gracenoteboston/
- Twitter: @gracenoteboston
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gracenote-boston-4
Image Credit:
Main photo of Zach and Aprille by @jamesscarpenter
