Mara Ellis
Founder & roaster
Bought the garage roaster, still runs it. Tastes every batch at 5:40am and will talk your ear off about drum temperature.
Home About
A garage roaster that got out of hand.
Emerald started with a secondhand drum roaster, one extension cord, and a neighbor who kept knocking to ask what smelled so good.
Our story
In 2019 we were roasting five kilos a week in a garage on Third Street, mostly for ourselves and the four people who'd figured out we were doing it. The beans went into paper bags with a rubber stamp. There was no shop, no sign, and no plan beyond next Saturday.
The plan arrived anyway. A bakery on Pearl Street closed, we signed a lease we couldn't quite afford, and spent one long August sanding the floor and arguing about where the bar should go. We got it wrong twice. The third arrangement is the one you'll walk into.
We only ever wanted to make the kind of coffee shop we'd want to sit in — quiet in the morning, loud by noon, honest about the price.
What hasn't changed is the roast. Still small batches, still low and long, still tasted every single morning before the doors open. If a batch isn't right it doesn't go on the shelf, and if a shot isn't right it goes down the drain. That's most of the whole philosophy.
What we care about
Paying growers above fair-trade, every harvest, on four farms we've actually visited. Composting the grounds — take a bag from the bin by the door for your tomatoes. Hiring people for the long haul and paying them a real wage, which is why the same faces are still behind the bar.
site/images/roaster.svg.How we got here
Seven years, four moves, one roaster.
2019
Five kilos a week
A secondhand drum roaster in the garage on Third. Beans sold out of the trunk at the Tuesday market.
2021
214 Pearl St.
The old bakery came up for lease. We kept the tile floor, the oven, and the smell.
2023
Direct trade, four farms
First buying trips to Huila and Yirgacheffe. We stopped guessing who grew our coffee.
2024
The bake program
Nadia joined and started laminating dough overnight. The cardamom bun has been selling out ever since.
2026
Still nine days
Twelve-kilo batches, six days a week, and nothing on the shelf older than nine days.
Hours
Open today
- Monday7:00am – 6:00pm
- Tuesday7:00am – 6:00pm
- Wednesday7:00am – 6:00pm
- Thursday7:00am – 6:00pm
- Friday7:00am – 6:00pm
- Saturday8:00am – 5:00pm
- Sunday8:00am – 3:00pm
Kitchen stops at 4pm daily. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and one Monday in August when we all go to the lake — we post the date on the door.
The room
Twenty-eight seats, one long table.
The oak table seats ten and nobody owns it. There are four two-tops by the window, six stools at the bar, and a bench out front for the dog you brought.
28seats inside
Freewifi & outlets
Yesdogs on the patio
Step-free entry from Pearl Street, an accessible restroom, and a 36-inch path to the counter. Tell us if anything's in the way and we'll move it.
Behind the bar
The people you'll actually meet.
Three of us most mornings, four on weekends. Ask any of them what to order — they'll have an opinion.
Nadia Behrend
Head baker
Laminates the dough the night before. Responsible for the cardamom bun and, by extension, the line out the door at 8am.
Theo Ruiz
Lead barista
Dials in the espresso twice a day and remembers your order after the second visit. Competitive about latte art, quietly.
We're usually hiring one weekend shift. If that's you, say hello on the contact page.
Come by
214 Pearl St., seven days a week.
Two blocks north of the park, on the corner of Pearl and Third. There's a bike rack out front and street parking after nine.