Five & Dine: 5 Baltimore community coffee shops serving warm drinks and warmer vibes

Dec. 18—By Amanda Yeager — ayeager@baltsun.com

PUBLISHED:December 18, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.| UPDATED:December 19, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.

Of all the businesses we frequent as we go about our week, the community coffee shop is probably the one that inspires some of the most fervent devotion.

Look no further than the outpouring of community support for Common Ground, the 25-year-old Hampden cafe that abruptly shuttered over the summer before reopening as a worker-owned cooperative this fall. Regular customers rallied behind staff who were pushing to regroup under the co-op structure, sending donations via Venmo and GoFundMe to support workers and help pay for reopening expenses. "Literally every financial question that has come up has been solved by this fund," Ford Duvall, one of Common Ground's new worker-owners, said in August of the overwhelming support.

Ubiquitous chains like Dunkin' and Starbucks can offer a quick and convenient caffeine fix, but it's the neighborhood coffee shops that give color to our daily routines, offering a rare "third space" for a leisurely catch-up with friends or some free wifi and an outlet for a day of remote work.

These cafés feel particularly vital during the cold, dark months when outings become fewer and farther between. Luckily, Baltimore has plenty of spots serving a warm cup of joe and an even warmer atmosphere. Here are a few of our favorites:

Arcola

Some of my favorites come on the recommendation of friends. I visited Arcola on the advice of a friend and Mayfield resident who is such a great fan of the coffee shop that he also supplies them with tomatoes from his garden and, on occasion, jam.

Arcola opened this summer on a quiet, semi-residential stretch of Harford Road just a few blocks from Lake Montebello. My friend described the cafe to me as "simple and dreamy," and he was right. The space is spacious and sunny, with white walls, hardwood floors and a tiled counter the color of sea glass.

Arcola serves coffee from Baltimore-based Thread Coffee Roasters. I ordered an iced latte with cardamom syrup, which added some sweetness and spice. The coffee shop's other house-made syrup flavors range from the classic (simple syrup, cinnamon) to the unexpected, with options like mango/kiwi and ghost pepper.

The Greek yogurt parfait, layered with a rainbow of fresh fruit, chia seeds and honey, was so pretty I almost didn't want to take a bite. Simple and dreamy indeed. 3500 Harford Road.

Café Los Sueños

This Remington coffee shop has a simple menu, but what it does, it does very well.

Carlos Payes opened the storefront for Café Los Sueños — Spanish for "The Dreams Coffee" — in 2021 after nearly a decade of roasting beans and selling them at farmers' markets in the Washington, D.C. area.

In Remington, he serves pour-overs, cold brews and espresso drinks featuring high-quality coffee sourced from Colombia, Ethiopia and sometimes his native El Salvador. One of Payes' dreams for the business is to buy coffee beans directly from the farmers who grow them.

The cafe's decor reflects its owner's journey. Bags that once held coffee beans now hang on the walls, stretched over frames. Also on display is a black T-shirt that Payes was wearing when he first arrived in the U.S.

For non-coffee drinkers, the shop serves an excellent hot chocolate topped with a dash of cinnamon, as well as tea and horchata, a rice-and-cinnamon-based drink (add espresso for a horchata latte). Though there's no food menu, Café Los Sueños does carry some locally baked pastries.

On my recent visits, the cafe was calm and quiet but not wanting for business. Customers sipped lattes and pour-overs at Café Los Sueños' long bar, taking a few minutes to savor a good cup of coffee before moving on with the day. 2740 Huntingdon Ave.

Dear Globe Coffee

This Bromo Arts District coffee shop had a couple different iterations before finding its current home on the ground floor of the Four Ten Lofts apartment building.

Owner LieAnne Navarro started Dear Globe in 2017 and opened her first storefront, on Howard Street's "Antique Row," in 2018. The cozy shop had a mid-century aesthetic and an Earth-friendly menu, with a focus on organic and Rainforest Alliance-certified roasts. The pandemic forced the cafe to close in 2020, but Navarro kept her coffee business alive with a roasting operation and wholesale deals until she was able to open another brick-and-mortar at 422 W. Mulberry St. The new space has a modern-eclectic vibe, with concrete floors and exposed pipes, ample greenery and rolling desk chairs for seating.

Though the decor has changed, Dear Globe's coffee is still sustainably sourced. For $2.50, you can grab a "cup of the day," or you can sip on one of the cafe's signature drinks, such as a bright, bubbly espresso tonic or a "coco and coffee" combo. I tried a Mexican mocha, infused with rich and bitter dark chocolate, as well as the avocado and egg breakfast burritos, a hearty breakfast option that spilled out of the flour tortillas and onto Dear Globe's blue-and-white-swirled plates as I ate. They were so good I didn't mind the mess.

After breakfast, pop into the neighboring Coffeecade, a room full of vintage arcade offerings like Pac-Man and Space Invaders. 422 W. Mulberry St.

Daily Grind

This coffee shop, on Thames Street across from the Fells Point waterfront, is an old-school neighborhood cafe in all the right ways.

Opened more than 30 years ago in the early 1990s, Daily Grind still exudes a certain second-wave coffeehouse charm. A fresh-brewed cup of coffee — small, medium or large — costs less than $3 here, while most espresso drinks, like lattes and cappuccinos, are less than $5. There's a community corkboard where neighbors post flyers. It's the kind of place where customers will leave their belongings unattended while they grab another drink.

Wallet-friendly coffee, pastries and sandwiches (grab a ham-egg-and-cheese for $4.95 or a Powerhouse sandwich, packed with sprouts, hummus and veggies, for $6.75) make the Daily Grind a staple for neighbors and tourists visiting the waterfront. Free wifi, ample seating options and power outlets also mean it's a convenient place to get some work done. My favorite spot to set up a remote office is in the coffee shop's atrium, an indoor space that looks like it was once outdoors, with brick walls, faux plants and skylights. 1720 Thames St.

High Grounds

You can find High Grounds coffee beans on the shelves at Whole Foods, Wegmans and Harris Teeter, but it's worth visiting this longstanding Highlandtown cafe in person.

High Grounds is another one of those coffee shops that have been around so long they're woven into the fabric of the community. Regulars breeze in and help themselves to the self-serve coffee counter ($2.10 for a small cup) or the bottomless cereal bar featuring Fruity Pebbles, Coco Puffs, Frosted Flakes and Cheerios. A rotating selection of specialty drip and cold brew flavors changes with the seasons: birthday cake was the featured flavor on the day I visited; now it's cinnamon egg nog in honor of the holiday season, according to social media.

Despite its longevity, the coffee shop is still evolving. This fall, High Grounds added a new seating lounge to provide more space for families and larger groups. And for the remote work crowd, the cafe installed more than 30 outlets to make sure everyone can keep their laptops charged. 3201 Eastern Ave.

Bonus brews

Here are some more community coffee shops worth a visit:

— Baby's On Fire, 1010 Morton St.

— Black Acres Roastery, 1400 Greenmount Ave. (inside Open Works) and 112 N. Eutaw St. (at the Lexington Market).

— The Bun Shop, 239 W. Read St.

— Cafe Dear Leon, 2929 O'Donnell St.

— Common Ground, 3543 Chestnut Ave.

— Culture Cup Cafe, 2501 Eastern Ave.

— Dovecote Cafe, 2501 Madison Ave.

— Good Neighbor, 3827 Falls Rd,

— Koba Cafe, 644 E Fort Ave.

— Morning Mugs Coffee, 15 W. Hughes St.

— OneDo Coffee Roasters, 913 S Lakewood Ave.

— On the Hill Cafe, 1431 John St.

— Pie Time, 3101 E Baltimore St.

— Red Emma's, 3128 Greenmount Ave.

— Sophomore Coffee, 2223 Maryland Ave.

— Vent Coffee Roasters, 1700 W 41st St.

— Zeke's Coffee, 4179 Harford Road (Lauraville location), 784 Washington Blvd. (Pigtown location).

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