Five New Cafés Open Across Chittenden County

Five new cafés opened this year across Chittenden County, each pairing coffee drinks with something beyond the cup: an art gallery, a kindness board, in-house baking, or shelves of books. The businesses, which opened between March and August, serve espresso drinks, lattes, dirty sodas and food made by local bakers.

Artemus Café opened in August at 104 Church St., #1A, Burlington, in the former Cosmic Grind and Speeder & Earl's Coffee space. Owner Michael Chase, 31, a painter who spent nearly a decade in restaurants, converted the 380-square-foot interior into the Burlington Art Mini Museum, displaying work by 22 artists. About a third of the pieces are for sale. Admission is free. Barista Quigley Lyden juggles outside the storefront to draw customers in. The café serves beans from Brio Coffeeworks. A Miel latte with cinnamon and honey costs $7.75, with no upcharge for oat milk. Chase said, "We're all about coffee, community and connection."

Café Napoli opened Memorial Day weekend at 163 Cherry St., Burlington, in the former Lucky You dispensary space. Owner Dante Seguino, 33, a former barista and manager at the Church Street Speeder & Earl's, runs the café on a La Marzocco machine with beans from Big Jay Roasting in Montgomery. His mother, retired University of Vermont professor Stephanie Seguino, bakes cakes in her inspected home kitchen, including an orange-almond-olive oil cake at $4.50 a slice. Other baked goods come from Belleville Bakery & Catering. A macchiato is $4. Dirty sodas are made with seltzer rather than soda.

Clover Café launched on March 17 at 510 Shelburne Rd., South Burlington, owned by siblings Amaya and Wolf Baustert, ages 28 and 30. The café serves Brio Coffeeworks espresso and treats from Haymaker Bun, Sweet Alchemy, Krin's Bakery and Lake Champlain Chocolates. Cold foam drinks became popular after a TikTok video posted in the café's second week. "We ran out of so much heavy cream," Amaya said. "I bought everything they had at Shaw's and Market 32." A pumpkin spice chai is $7.50 for a small, $8.50 for a large. A "kindness board" installed over the summer holds prepaid drink cards, which customers claim a couple of times a day.

Meadow Roast Café opened in late March at 1 Market Pl., Building 3, Unit 25, Essex, in the Essex Towne Marketplace off Susie Wilson Road. Owner Toney Edmonds, 55, spent years at national chains including la Madeleine. The café makes pastries in-house daily, including dark rum-and-pumpkin mini loaves at $5.25 and "brookies" at $3.75. A breakfast bowl with eggs, roasted sweet potatoes and cheddar is $9.25. The 12 seats sit in the rear section. Edmonds sources beans from Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea in Waterbury Center and mugs from Luke Iannuzzi Pottery in Warren.

Wild Meadows Books & Café opened in late June at 27 Market St., Williston, in the Finney Crossing shopping center. Owners Susan and Rick Cote, who also own the Williston Observer weekly, run the shop. Susan, 65, spent 10 years at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, now Keurig Dr Pepper, and selected beans from Mocha Joe's Roasting in Brattleboro. Mirabelles Bakery in South Burlington makes sandwiches for the shop. The café serves wine and beer and hosts evening events.

The cafés share a plain approach to brewing: none offers pour-over or siphon methods. The menus focus on lattes, espresso drinks, chai and seasonal drinks.