Resistencia Coffee: A Coffeeshop for Placemaking
Residents in a red-lined neighborhood in South Seattle wanted a place to connect, build social capital, and change the public narrative of their community from scarcity to one of possibility. While there was much civic energy amongst the residents, the retail core was underutilized. In addition, the thread of displacement and extractive real estate practices threatened the ability of residents to remain in the neighborhood they loved.
Role: Project Founder and Lead Service Designer
Resistencia Coffee
To create a vibrant locally-owned coffeeshop designed by and for residents as a radically welcoming third space, that would reflect the values and character of the neighbors. In order to increase social capital and economic opportunity, the coffeeshop would be built and operate fully with resources from the neighborhood. The key to its success was emotional resonance which informed the service design and overall customer experience.
Clip from Seattle's Good Business Network featuring Resistencia Coffee.
Using the principles and methods of service design, our process was structured in terms of research, ideation, prototyping, and implementation.
Research
We hosted listening sessions with residents & stakeholders, and immersed ourselves in the life of the area by spending time there, experiencing the pain points of residents.
2. Ideation
Ideas were plenty as far as the concepts and functions that this place needed to be.
We started with a coffee cart inside a brewery to do trial runs and see how the neighborhood responded to Resistencia, while gathering critical input from customers to inform the final design
3. Prototyping
We had a challenging build out in a very tight deadline. The place we rented was a cave with a sewer, or “a blank canvas” as the landlord put it. All funds, labor, and vendors came from 1 mile radious.
4. Implementation
The retail space was 900sq which was small. We designed it to maximize room for interpersonal connection and kept our kitchen, storage, and coffee bar at the smallest possible footprint.
The build out process took three months. All labor came from the neighborhood and all new hires lived within a two mile radius. Our roaster was Caffe Umbria, located two blocks away from Resistencia Coffee.
By platforming the values and aspirations of the residents, Resistencia Coffee quickly became a beloved neighborhood staple.
Customers felt a great deal of emotional resonance when entering the shop. They were quick to acquire merch with our branding and subscribe to our spotify playlist to stay connected in between visits.
This strong emotional connection resulted in a loyal customer base that kept the shop thriving even through Covid.
By incorporating the residents as co-creators of the space, the coffeeshop was a vibrant space full or art, creativity, and laughter. Many resident-led initiatives grew out of the coffeeshop.
Many of these initiatives had economic import. The Barista brigade trained young residents with barista skills, and we effectively functioned as a business incubator for food and art entrepreneurs.
From a business perspective, the coffeeshop was successful and was sold profitably in 2023.
