Capitol Hill presents many options for ending your day. Melrose Market is now home to a way to get it started. Honor Society Coffee has taken over two parts of the locavore-focused market usually dedicated to nightlife to open its first brew bar. By night, the Sitka and Spruce and lower Bar Ferdinand will continue to host good times on Melrose Ave — by day, Honor Society has moved in with “a rotating selection of single-origin espresso, a unique selection of specialty drinks including house made nut milks, cold-pressed juice, and a hearty food menu of flavorful, chef-driven dishes for breakfast and lunch.”
“We’re taking over the Bar at Sitka and Spruce, as well as Bar Ferdinand during daytime hours,” Liz Pachaud tells CHS. “Our goal is to activate the Melrose Market during daytime hours and make it a neighborhood destination for working and socializing during times when it isn’t a bar.”
Pachaud and Brandin Myett are the partnership behind the micro roaster Honor Society. After a year of wholesale activity, the duo stepped into Melrose Market’s mix of restaurants and small shops to put the space in the neighborhood connecting Capitol Hill to downtown to its full use:
The Melrose Market offers charming ambiance for casual coffee service, a quick afternoon lunch, or a focused business meeting. With ample seating, lively atmosphere and convenient location, the Melrose Market offers a perfect setting for Honor Society to meet the needs of coffee lovers and mobile professionals alike.
Pachaud is the experienced coffee roaster and barista while Myett knows the Hill’s breakfast and daytime habits well. Myett and Kari Brunson started Juicebox and opened the project’s 12th Ave cafe in 2013. Brunson, meanwhile, is about to debut her new project, Pike/Pine plant-based ice cream shop Frankie and Jo’s, partnering with Autumn Martin of Hot Cakes.
The Honor Society project comes after a rough patch for Melrose Market merchants who say business soured due to impacts from nearby construction projects. Meanwhile, the Calf and Kid cheese countered shuttered earlier this year as part of larger financial difficulties around the business. One major construction project is about wrap up and should provide an influx of business as The Excelsior brings hundreds of new apartment units — and underground parking for 180 vehicles. The new coffee bar will also be just a short walk down Melrose from the massive Starbucks Reserve Roastery that draws hundreds of patrons and coffee tourists every day. And, of course, coffee continues to be an investment opportunity in the neighborhood. Last week, CHS reported on Seattle Coffee Works beginning construction on its new E Pike cafe.
Honor Society has been open with limited hours and is planning a grand opening this coming weekend, September 16th through Sunday the 18th, with free bags of coffee, and drink specials.
Honor Society is located inside the Melrose Market at 1531 Melrose Ave. Hours are planned as Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 3 PM, Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 3 PM. You can learn more at honorsocietycoffee.com.
Bit too much Honor in Seattle coffee these days.
I’m confused. What’s the difference between “Honor Coffee” and “Honor Society Coffee”?
Honor Society Coffee is run by Liz Pachaud, an incredible, Seattle-based micro-roaster who wholesales to the Seattle hotels and restaurants. They now have their own beautiful cafe in the Melrose Market with incredible food and coffee!
Honor Coffee, is owned by a Chinese corporation and do something very different…