Since 2008, suite 101 of 317 W.Sixth St. has seen two businesses come and go, said Property Manager Wayne Browing. Now it welcomes a new business at the location.
Steven Devine | Summer Arg
Kayla Wilson, manager at Thomas Hammer in Moscow, pours a leaf design in a coffee she just prepared. The new coffee shop is located at the old location of Pony Espresso on 6th street.
Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters opened June 14 in Moscow.
Kayla Wilson, manager at the new coffee shop, said the Moscow location is the 15th location that Thomas Hammer has opened in the last 18 years
“We try and stay pretty close to our headquarters because we guarantee fresh roasted beans and fresh baked goods and the farther we go the farther it’s less and less guaranteed,” Wilson said. “Our farthest location is Boise and they make it work which is super awesome.”
Wilson said she worked at Thomas Hammer in Pullman as assistant manager for two years until she was promoted to manager at the Moscow location.
“I’ve always lived in Moscow so when Thomas Hammer surprised me and told me we were opening a location in Moscow I was super excited,” Wilson said.
Aside from typical coffee drinks Thomas Hammer also sells whole bean organic coffee that’s fair trade. They also offer gluten free and vegan items.
“I hope that Thomas Hammer is able to bring to Moscow more knowledge of coffee,” said Assistant Manager Kylie Stevens. “We have an incredible knowledge of coffee here at Thomas Hammer and I would love for people to just know more about it.”
Wilson said at Thomas Hammer all employees go through a training process with a corporate drink trainer who is also on a barista guild. The corporate trainer trains employees to make a cup of coffee properly and also gives them reasons as to why — scientifically –it should be done that way.
“He has us taste the bad coffee to the good coffee, that way we know that when we’re handing out something and we did it wrong we feel guilty about it because we know it’s not going taste to the full potential,” Wilson said.
Downtown Moscow has many different coffee shops competing with each other, but Stevens said that Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters is unique.
“If you walk into a lot of other coffee shops they have an indie vibe so it’s very mellow and not so upbeat,” Stevens said. “And if you walk in here we’re always very energetic.”
Wilson said although they can’t offer the coffee house feel, they want customers to feel invited.
“We hope to bring our already-stellar reputation from Pullman to here and just spread it about the town that if you’re having a bad day you can come here and just say hi to the friendly baristas –they’ll know you by name and they’ll know your drink,” Wilson said.
Pony Espresso was the last business at the 6th street location, prior to Thomas Hammer.
Browning said the two previous businesses did not leave that location because they weren’t getting enough business but rather because one of them was relocating to a different state and the owner of the second one wanted to open a brewery at a different location.
“I feel like Thomas Hammer, the owner, is so involved with this company that it’s almost impossible for it to fail,” Wilson said.”We know our coffee, we know how to make it right and we know the community super well.”
Wilson said the goal at Thomas Hammer is to bring good coffee and a good coffee experience to Moscow.
“You could go to any local coffee shop and get an excellent cup of coffee but was your customer service as good and will you go back if it was so bad?” Wilson said. “So we try to keep the whole package here. Even if they’re just grabbing a cookie, still make it an amazing experience.”
Iris Alatorre can be reached at [email protected]