Honor Coffee

A respectful coffee shop

Chelsea Hou, owner, and Hana Hu, CEO (photo), want to create a space that offers the best product, but also a place where connections are made, relationships built. How is that done? With a level of service that doesn't always exist in our busy lives.

"We want people to understand that we're reacting because you've come in the door. There's a lot of great coffee in Seattle. We want to take the experience to a different level. It's about respect. Respect for everyone in the chain: the growers, producers, distributors, employees, guests. We want to honor people and their time. While we want to provide a perfected craft product, we never want to forget it's about people. When you go out for coffee, a meal, etc., you may forget what you had, but you never forget how you felt. We want people to remember how great they felt at Honor."

Another aspect of Honor is ensuring that people feel welcome the minute they walk in. Most Seattle-ites have some idea about coffee (unless you're living in a cave), but that doesn't mean they're comfortable walking into a coffee shop and asking questions or knowing what they want. The city is home to familiar coffee shops, i.e., Starbucks, plus third wave shops that offer a more intense experience, Milstead and Neptune as examples. "Sometimes people are intimidated going into a specialty coffee shop. We'd like to be the bridge," explains Hana.

Having just opened at the beginning of October, they know they have a lot to prove in this coffee-addicted city. They're using Victrola coffee because "they do business the way we want to do business," and offer pastries from Fuji Bakery. "Just as we want to be a bridge for people with coffee and tea, we want to bring something different in our food. Fuji does a great job of being that bridge: while you can get a traditional croissant, you can also get a green tea Danish." They also offer Asian-style teas. They don't have much signage in the shop. "We want people to ask questions and we want our employees to notice when people hesitate. It's the perfect opportunity to start a dialogue. Not only will both sides learn something, they'll also make a connection. Employees don't wear name tags for the same reason. Feel free to ask them their names! We want people to have a personal experience here."

Matcha tea latte, courtesy of Honor Coffee

Their location across the street from the Space Needle was intentional. "We don't always have high pedestrian traffic, but since our goal is to offer great coffee to everyone in the world, it makes sense for us to be where people from all over the world come. This is where the world meets in Seattle. We feel that if we do a good job of building our brand here and become part of the community, we have a good chance to take it to other communities within the U.S. and outside the country. We'd like to eventually do this in China."

Honor Coffee counter courtesy of Honor Coffee

Bottom line, they care about people. Everything else is a result and a product of that.

Honor Coffee
100 4^th Ave N, #165
KOMO Plaza
Seattle, WA 98109
206-448-6638

www.honorcoffee.com

Connie Adams/December 2015