Comb Ridge Coffee Shop

Comb Ridge Coffee Shop

In the town of Bluff, Utah, you will find Comb Ridge Coffee Shop. It is a small coffee shop which offers you very high quality coffees. Tourists from different parts of the world have commented that this little shop is comparable to Starbucks coffee. There, you will find not only “the best” coffee, but also a short menu of vegetarian foods to eat and art work and jewelry to buy or just to look at.

The establishment started as a post office around1900. From a gas station, it then turned into a trading post. The building was made out of hay bales, sand bags and the walls plastered with natural clay. Its structure was built with natural resources. The floor cement was laid on top of the ground with no foundation and totally laid on dirt. Around 1998, the previous owner built an apartment behind the building as their residence.

In 2006, Andrea and David Carpenter bought the place to start a business that serves excellent coffee and healthy organic food in the middle of nowhere. The coffee shop has been in business for almost 7 years now. It started as a drive-in that served only coffee to locals and travelers. As years passed by, the owners started to add more variety of foods and drinks. The Carpenters also made some renovation in the building; additional structures include the back door, the front porch and the two bathrooms, to meet the expectation of the business growth.

As you observe the place, you can see the colors of the walls are very well planned to make the ambiance very relaxing. The mixture of brown, red and yellow adds an earthy look that blends not only with the outside environment, but also with the color of coffee beans. The outcome of the remodeling of the building enhanced the rustic, authentic and live-in look that gives the relaxed atmosphere to the coffee shop.
  The Coffee Shop has outdoor seating where one can enjoy the sunshine during summer, while drinking your coffee or eating your ice cream or you can go inside and check out the variety of jewelries and arts that are on display. As you enter the shop employees will greet you with a smile and friendly tone of voice. You will also smell the tempting aroma of coffee and the fresh baked goods coming from the kitchen oven.

Comb Ridge Coffee Shop supports local artists by displaying and selling their art work. All kinds of art media are featured at the coffee shop. These include paintings, photographs, pottery and jewelry.

This season the paintings that are hanging on the walls were done by J.R Lancaster, Lancaster’s works with mixed media. It is very textural, earthy and unique. The pottery and clay-made crafts are by Linda Moore and Chris Blackhorse’ works are in Native-American modern designs. The jewelries like earrings, necklaces, and bracelets that are on display are made by Louise Young, Amanda Bouchard, and Ernie and Rebecca Washee.

            The new managers of the coffee shop are Brandon Thompson and Chris McGuire, who were employed just 6 months ago. They made an acquaintance with one of the owners who gave them an opportunity to run this small business in Bluff, Utah.

            “First, I didn’t know what I would respond, I couldn’t imagine myself living in Utah. The fact that I lived on the east coast before I work in Grand Canyon was one thing, but Utah, I don’t think so. But, when we visited and saw the place I fell in love with it, it’s just so beautiful.” Chris McGuire shared.

            The two young co-managers feel that working and managing the coffee shop at the same time, is exhausting, time consuming and stressful, but it is also a very fulfilling for both of them. Though there are some minor problems dealing with some foreign customers, like language barrier, McGuire and Thompson are enjoying their job of running the small business in Bluff.

            Comb Ridge Coffee Shop serves a breakfast menu, sandwiches, and coffee to locals and tourists,  they serve: breakfast muffins, fresh baked goods, Panini, red bell pepper quiche, homemade granola, organic oatmeal and the pancake they are famous of; the blue corn pancake, that has a sweet taste and grainy texture. They also serve sandwiches as healthy snack, they also offer unlimited cups of coffee when you stay for a while, and they also serve fancy coffee such as Americano, café latte, Chai latte, cappuccino and organic tea’s. They also serve freezes that are named after tourist destinations in four-corners, like Hovenweep and Honaker.  The owner and the managers are looking forward to put more variety of food to choose from on the menu.

            While the tourist trade is the main income source of the coffee shop, local people love to stay for a while too, just to relax or to wait for other locals to come around. They usually go every Sunday morning to get a cup of coffee and eat breakfast. Students like to come and stick around for a while for the free Wi-Fi connection .Some people who love to sit on the sofa and read while sipping their drinks. Customers love to come back after they have breakfast just to pass the time again or to get a cup of coffee. You will see some familiar faces coming back again not only once but twice or more.