Monorail Espresso
Monorail Espresso is a coffeehouse in Seattle. It is notable as having been founded as the first espresso cart in the world. An espresso cart is a food cart from which a barista can make espresso.
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Monorail_Espresso.jpg)
On December 1, 1980, Seattle proprietor Chuck Beek set up an espresso cart at Westlake Mall under the Seattle Center Monorail as an experiment to see whether there was a market for espresso sold on the street rather than in a traditional coffeehouse.[1] The business model proved successful and in 1997, the business moved from a cart to a walkup window.[1] The coffeehouse is located at 510 Pike Street in Seattle and today is owned and operated by former Monorail barista, Aimee Peck.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Monorail_Espresso_founder%2C_Chuck_Beek_in_front_of_his_original_cart.jpg/220px-Monorail_Espresso_founder%2C_Chuck_Beek_in_front_of_his_original_cart.jpg)
In 2015, Monorail opened a second location in the lobby of the Columbia Center, located at 701 Fifth Avenue in Seattle. This location is the only commercial establishment in the building's 5th Avenue lobby.[2]
In 2018, Monorail opened a third location on Westlake Avenue between 8th and 9th Avenues.[3]
References[]
- ^ a b Munson, Chris; Cone, Dani (2009). Tall skinny bitter : notes from the center of coffee culture. Seattle, Wash.: Sasquatch Books. ISBN 978-1-57061-565-8.
- ^ "Northwest Legends: Monorail Espresso". Mukilteo Coffee. Archived from the original on 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ "Westlake Ave". Monorail Espresso. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
See also[]
Coffee portal
Coordinates: 47°36′40″N 122°20′06″W / 47.61111°N 122.33500°W
- Coffee in Seattle
- Coffee houses of the United States
- Coffee stubs