Indie Ogden Spotlight: Kaffe Mercantile

Some of you might head north or south on Harrison and notice a little sign on the corner pointing east to a coffee shop. You might think about stopping but just continue to drive because you don’t have the extra five minutes to pick up your Dirty Chai with a double shot of espresso and whole milk (my favorite drink, if you couldn’t tell).

Do I have news for you.

I’ll save the goods for last though- First off, I’d like to tell you a little bit about the owners of Kaffe Mercantile.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lance Smith, who is originally from Wyoming and moved to Utah nine years ago.  I asked him why he was in the coffee shop business and his response was because it “is a dream of his.”
Anyone ever heard of the LG (Life Is Good) saying “Do what you love, love what you do”? Well, Lance LOVES the Kaffe. He and Nick (the other owner, who grew up in Ogden and I didn’t get the chance to speak with due to his crazy schedule and my laziness) have been putting their blood, sweat, tears and life into this little shop, and you know what? It’s gotten pretty damn good and has grown a LOT since it first opened a couple of years ago.

While talking with Lance, we covered a lot of questions, but I’m going to bring it down to some basic Ogden-love questions:
1. What do you hope to see for the future of Kaffe Mercantile?
2. Why do you love Ogden?
3. Why are you a local Ogden supporter?
In answering the first question, Lance expressed his love of Ogden in how he really just wants to add more to the neighborhood along with the local industry boom that’s spreading like wildfire.
“We hope to be here for a very long time and be part of the neighborhood because that’s important to us.  We hope to be apart of Ogden and something that Ogden appreciates. We hope to keep growing and to continue making great friends. We always consider our customers our friends.”

On the second question (that rolled into the third question) Lance began his statement with “Wow,” moments of silence, then an astonished “What isn’t there to love about Ogden?”

“After living here for almost 10 years and I still look and see where we live at the foot of these mountains… I am just amazed that we get to live here. I mean, who gets to live in a place like this? I love how it’s so close to such great outdoors. Hiking, biking, climbing, skiing… just the great outdoors, plus it’s so casual and diverse.

“We also love supporting local artists and food.  The cookies that we have in here are actually made by one of the ladies that lives in the neighborhood who bakes cookies for a living.  We call her “The Cookie Lady”.

“Caffé Ibis is also one of the most phenomenal coffees we’ve ever found. When we first took over the Kaffe we looked at a couple different local coffee bean farmers but we were praying that Ibis would let us sell their coffee.  We were absolutely thrilled when they choose us.  Then we have “The Rocket Fuel” which is “oatmeal not for wussies,” made out of Utah County and the Powerbars that are local from Park City.”

“The jewelry that we have on display is made by one of our neighbors and the aprons are made by people who also live in Ogden.  We recently acquired books by Sue Wilkerson and Shalae Larsen that are about Ogden and are pushing to bring the trolley back to town.”

Not only are these two amazing men really trying to make an impact in supporting Utah and Ogden locally, but they are trying to create one of the best coffee or hot cocoa experience that a customer can have. Lance explained to me that they strive for everyone needing to leave with a good drink and a good personable experience with them and their employees.  Their coffee industry isn’t there just for the business, as I stated before.  They are there to make friends and watch Ogden aspire into the beautiful city that’s been hiding from the world. Lance’s last words of our interview were “I believe in Ogden.”

Now, after I’ve explained to you how amazing the Kaffe is, with amazing coffee, local artists, local and hand-baked foods (did I mention they make almost all of their own food from scratch?) I’d like to return to my first comment about you driving past this place and not stopping because you don’t have the time…
Check this out-

Mercantile now has a texting service.  You can text your order to the phone number 801-529-0376 and they will have your drink ready by the time you get there.  Sometimes there may be a small wait, but as soon as you text your order in, you’re put in line with the rest of the customers. How awesome is that?! Little to no wait when you really need your morning fix and you’re late? That’s a college kids and working mom or dad’s dream! All you have to do is text in exactly what you want in your drink, like my specific drink I opened this article with, and your name.  Or, if you do have a little time, the Kaffe has their daily Facebook special, student discounts and free wi-fi with purchase. They are located at 1221 26th Street in Ogden, open from 6:30am-6pm Monday through Friday, 7am-6pm on Saturday and 8am-4pm on Sundays. So go grab a cup of local joe or some creamy hot cocoa and support the local push in beautiful Ogden, Utah!

Check them out on facebook-https://www.facebook.com/Kaffemercantile