If you come to Seattle to see neat little coffee shops, a teeny coffee house known as Ghost Alley Espresso needs to be added to your list. I didn’t realize the historic value of this shop until I tried to figure out what the significance of Ghost Alley was and I read on their site that in 1908 this used to be a bathroom attendant’s room. (And now I’m even more curious-I think a lot more would make sense if I take the Ghost tour one day that takes you through the market at night because it starts RIGHT in front of the coffee shop!) It’s also the nearest coffee shop to the gum wall and it’s right in Pike Place Market so chances are you might be in the neighborhood anyways.
As for the coffee at Ghost Alley Espresso, they use local milk and have many different kinds, and they use a really neat modbar system to make it. There aren’t very many seats so I was really glad I got one in the window and I imagine this would be a unique place for a first date in the market. There are purposeful details everywhere in the shop-adorably labeled sugar jars, a lit up “Open” sign, lanterns and nicely packaged local coffees. I love eye-candy like this in a coffee shop and it was also entertaining to look out the window and see all the people meeting our city’s most garrish landmark for the very first time.
I can’t believe I’ve been coming to the market for so long and haven’t stopped in-I usually just go to the “original Starbucks” and hang out with all the tourists in line or grab a cup at Le Panier. But doing this 52 weeks of eating at new places in Pike Place Market is really expanding my outlook of the market and my city. I love how many new-to-me places I’ve discovered and it’s made this year a fabulous culinary adventure!
(PS. I didn’t drink my whole coffee here, I ended up walking with it to the nearby Fran’s Chocolates, a made-in-Seattle chocolate shop where I needed to do some shopping and I got a sample of a salted caramel chocolate. What a perfect pairing!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)