Former Tougo Coffee Director Plans New Capitol Hill Cafe

Changes are afoot at Broadcast Coffee’s Capitol Hill location (1623 Bellevue Ave). Chainlet owner Barry Faught is selling the cafe to friends Lee Hampton and Christos Andrews, who will open Ghost Note Coffee in its place. The cafe will retain Broadcast Coffee as its primary roaster.

Andrews says he’ll move into the space next month, with the goal of opening in March. The cafe will focus on simplicity and quality, Andrews told Eater.

“Our core coffee menu will have a rotating selection of single origin coffees and seasonal drinks,” he said. “We will have two options of single origin espresso as a base for our core menu. For those who like flavored drinks, we will have a strong focus on doing in-house made and seasonal ingredients for our signature beverage options. We'll be taking a lot of influence from the craft bartending world in regards to our drink preparation.”

Andrews says that he’s planning tasting sessions that will allow participants to sample single-origin espressos in different cups that emphasize their flavor profiles “similar to how sommeliers pair different wines with different glassware.” Drinks will be served in ceramic cups handmade by local artist Curtis Yu.

Andrews also says the cafe will not implement a tipping system, consistent with a growing trend among restaurants and bars. Rather, there will be a 10 percent service charge. “We’ll pay our employees very competitive wages with a lot of opportunity for raises, bonuses, paid time off, and various other great benefits,” Andrews said. “We believe that fundamentally, employers should be responsible for paying their employees what they're worth without relying on customer's judgement or foot traffic to decide if their paycheck is good enough. We also want to encourage employees to grow with us and reward them for doing so.”

Ghost Note will sell bread loaves and toast from Columbia City Bakery, and pastries with locally-sourced ingredients from Salmon Berry Goods.

Andrews is an accomplished barista, having competed in several competitions and having won the America’s Best Espresso contest in 2013 as a representative for Tony’s Coffee. He did a stint at Neptune Coffee and was coffee director at well-respected Tougo Coffee for two years; most recently, Andrews was the coffee director for Columbia City Bakery, where he revamped the company’s coffee program.

For more updates on Ghost Note’s opening timeline, follow the shop’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.