Elm Is Bringing New Coffee to Old Seattle This December

Brendan Mullally's Elm Coffee is starting to take shape. A Seattle native, Mullally spent seven years at Joe in NYC and moved back to Seattle just over a year ago to open a coffee bar; he's teamed up with former Stumptown roaster Drew Fitchette to launch the Pioneer Square project.

The Furuya-Corgiat building that houses Elm is part of what's arguably the best block right now in the oldest part of town -- Elm's neighbors include Pizzeria Gabbiano and the brand new Good Bar. The storefront was totally updated and restored in 2009; the exposed brick space was a bar back in the day but has sat vacant for years. "It is a great area that is home to some of the best restaurants, as well as quite a few homeless shelters and missions," Mullally says. "Our hope is that the revitalization of the area has a positive effect on the entire population of Pioneer Square, and we are pretty optimistic about this."

The coffee menu will rotate through three or four single origins, a blend, and a decaf at a time. Mullally says he and Fitchette are into "sweet, interesting coffees, with no detectable roast, nor underdevelopment." He also wants the vibe to be educational if customers have questions, but "without pretense, without force-feeding the customers information."

Elm is planning to open the second week of December at 240 2nd Ave. S.