Tougo Coffee Co.

You’ll never meet a friendlier coffee shop owner. Brian seems to know everyone who walks through door - and strangers are just friends he hasn’t met yet. Tougo Coffee is welcoming, relaxing - and yet lively at the same time. It’s easy to catch snatches of conversation about the local experimental music scene, upcoming art & poetry events, and mostly, the general stories of people’s daily lives … “family coming to visit,”“working on the house this weekend,” “going for a walk along the lake.” Did I mention that they make a brilliant cup of coffee?

Tougo has great coffee, and is exactly one block from my house. What more could I ask for?

Great location, great owner, and as a tea lover I’m going to hand out some props for the excellent tea. The neighborhood needs this joint and I think it’s going to be an awesome match for business and community. Go Tougo!

is this in capitol hill, as 43places claims, or the CD? Ofcourse it’s the CD, but with the addition of tougo one can imagine it eventually, maybe, gentrifying into a blurry border between the two. this week-old cafe features a simple, well executed interior space with a cool ceiling, retro ‘40’s lights, wifi, and plenty of vertical proof that ‘wasabi green’ is still working as the color of our times. once inside you will not believe you are in the same building that one views from the street. the proprietor is a great guy. along with recently opened victrola on pike, and the new fuel in montlake, there is a surge of great independents. but this is the only one sharing names with a town in burkina faso and a japanese kanji. only a few blocks away from katy’s cafe on 20th and union, hopefully they will both prosper.