Vent Coffee Roasters Will Open Its First Brick and Mortar Café at Union Collective
Coffee Shop Will Offer Locally Sourced Baked Goods, Wholesale Roasting and Artist Events
BALTIMORE, Nov. 8, 2017 – Vent Coffee Roasters, a Baltimore business owned by longtime barista and coffee professional Sarah Walker, will open its first brick and mortar café and espresso bar inside Union Collective by early Spring 2018.
Leasing 1,900 square feet for a small-batch roaster and a full coffee and espresso bar with seats for 40 to 45 people, Vent will offer traditional espresso drinks, Nitro Cold Brew on tap, and coffee ‘mock’-tails, as well as slow bar options of Aeropress and Chemex. For food, Vent plans to serve locally sourced pastries, and Walker’s own family recipes of baklava and Greek butter cookies. Teas will be provided by locally-owned Wight Tea Co.
Over the past 11 years, Walker has transitioned from barista to manager to roaster in an evolution spanning the West and East coasts and a myriad of cafés. For the past two years, Vent has operated inside the Argosy Café inside the Munsey Building on N. Calvert St.
“I have been looking at other places to expand my operation but nothing felt like the right risk until Adam and Jon approached me about Union Collective,” she added. “We have already done a collaboration with Union Craft Brewing and I can’t wait to do more with them and hopefully other Collective tenants.”
Designed by Walker herself using Ripristino Remodeling to bring her vision to life, the café will be located at the two bays of what was once the building’s loading dock, with one roll up door at the store front and one made of stationary glass plus two skylights to fill the space with an abundance of natural light. With picnic tables and stools at the espresso bar, Vent will have what Walker calls a “garage chill vibe.”
“To me, coffee shops are so much more than just coffee. They can become a person’s second home. I want to create a comfortable space for community, and a place where people can come and let out their worries and take in something better…hence our name Vent,” she said.
“We initially approached Sarah about roasting some coffee for a couple of beer projects,” said Jon Zerivitz, co-founder of Union Craft Brewing. “After spending some time with her, hearing her story, tasting her product, and understanding her brand and vision as a local, woman-owned business and ‘maker’, we quickly realized that Vent is the exact type of concept we wanted for the Collective when we started this journey. The fact that Sarah will open her first brick and mortar inside the walls of our project is humbling and completely exciting.”
“With the addition of Vent Coffee, we are excited for Union Collective to be 80 percent leased. We are continuing to focus on finding the best and brightest companies in and around Baltimore to fill out the remaining two spots in the Collective,” Zerivitz added.
Walker is planning events for local artists’ exhibits once the space opens next year.
About UNION Collective:
UNION Collective will transform 10.5 acres and 138,000 square feet of warehouse space located at 1700 W. 41st Street in Baltimore’s neighborhood of Hampden-Medfield into an interactive and collaborative assembly of several of Baltimore’s growing independent businesses. With 87,000 square feet adjacent to UNION Craft Brewing’s new headquarters, brewery and taproom, the project will be home to eight other commercial tenants. Local makers, non-profits, and other businesses will produce and sell their wares on site, share resources, collaborate, and connect with the community at large. Construction on the project began August 2017, and is expected to be completed in Spring 2018. For more information, visit www.union-collective.com.
About VENT Coffee Roaster:
Vent Coffee Roasters is a Baltimore-based coffee roasters established in 2013. Our desire and goal is to create a space, whether in our house or yours, that allows you to do just as our name states: Vent! At Vent, coffee roasting is an art and passion where we enjoy searching and finding the best profiles for each of our coffees allowing for their individual characteristics. Not only do we care about skillfully crafting our coffee, we also care about where it comes from. In our desire to support our community here in Baltimore, all of our green coffees are provided by local importers such as Keffa Coffee and Direct Origins Trading. Vent Coffee Roasters grew out of Sarah Walker’s vision to create a coffee company that not only cares about the quality of its coffees but, and maybe even most important, creating a communal atmosphere in the heart of Baltimore. Opening inside Union Collective Spring 2018. Learn more at http://www.ventcoffeeroasters.com. ###
