Coffee Date and Research?…

You might be wondering why coffee and comics? Other than enjoying a nice cup of coffee in the morning with a comic book, opening a coffee and comic shop is something I’d like to do in the near future. It’s always a great time going to a comic shop and browsing all the comics, figurines and more; but a lot of the time after I make my purchase I want to sit down and read them. However all comic shops are cramped spaces that are packed to the ceilings with products. Even the Mile High Comics in Denver that is an entire warehouse is packed to the brim and doesn’t offer any seating. With three comic shops being 15-25 minutes away from me, I end up going home to read them instead of going to another establishment to sit and read. Now a coffee and comic shop takes care of that problem by not only providing a space to sit and relax but also providing food and beverages to pair with your comic purchase.

Starbucks plus many other national and global brands have some cities and towns in the palm of their hand by having so many locations and beating out local competition. For instance I live about 20 mins outside of Denver and there are maybe one or two “mom and pop” coffee shops as opposed to multiple Starbucks, Dutch Bros, Caribou Coffee and Ziggy’s Coffee, all national chains. In the 5 years I’ve been living in Colorado I’ve been to Dutch Bros once and Starbucks a few times. I’ve never been to Caribou Coffee or Ziggy’s, but anytime I’ve gone to Starbucks, or driven by the other coffee shops, they’re either empty or just have a drive-thru going.

That brings me to the next part of this which is going on coffee adventures with my wife. Before getting into the coffee shop business, we want to do our due diligence and research what makes coffee shops successful in the Denver area and surrounding suburbs. Last week we went to a coffee shop called Sweet Bloom that was really nice but we felt out of place. It seemed like everyone sitting there was on a laptop and there were only a few tables that offered seating for more than two people.

What we did like was the pastries so today I wanted to see what was near us that offered breakfast pastries and I came across Tous Les Jours. This bakery and cafe is located less than 10 mins from our house, in fact once we got there we were thinking it’d be a nice bike ride someday. It is however part of a national chain but we wanted to give it a chance.

A very aesthetically pleasing bakery with a wide variety of pastry options. Savory and sweet, I hit the jackpot. There were so many different items to choose from I had to walk around and look at everything twice before choosing. Everything looked exceptional, freshly baked, fresh and vibrant fruit, it just looked perfect. My wife opted for a latte and almond croissant, I got a hot mocha, a blueberry cream cheese pastry and later went and got an apple filled pastry too.

The hot mocha was delicious and didn’t seem as heavy or thick as opposed to Starbucks. I devoured my first pastry, the bread was so soft and fluffy, the cream filling had bits of blueberry, I finished it in under two minutes. Still hungry, I got an apple filled pastry that was also baked to perfection with a flaky crust and rich apple filling. They had quite a few food options and certainly a place we will be visiting again, especially to try out one of their smoothies. Highly recommend checking this place out if you’re ever in the Denver suburb area.