The Point of community and coffee

Ryan Cobbins never planned to open Coffee at The Point, a bustling café that has become a popular community gathering place in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

The Virginia native recalls talking with his wife years ago about a vacant commercial space next to their home.

“I remember her saying I should take over the space. I think she said it as a joke — but I took it as a challenge,” said Cobbins, a 1999 graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver. “The thing I’ve enjoyed the most is the challenges.”

Like small-business owners across the country, Cobbins has faced enormous challenges in the face of a global pandemic that closed Coffee at The Point to in-person dining for several months this year. Sales fell by 80%, with half of Cobbins’ staff self-quarantining due to concerns about the coronavirus or because they live with older relatives.

“It has been tough, but for the last 10 years it has been tough,” said Cobbins, who earned his bachelor’s degree in information systems and management science at MSU Denver. “The pain now is recognized by understanding this isn’t just something happening in Denver or just my business. It’s a worldwide pandemic. There is not much I can complain about when this is something affecting others.”

Opened in 2010, Coffee at The Point specializes in coffee, tea, gelato, breakfast, salads and community spirit. More than 100 community meetings and group reservations were on the books when the coffee shop closed in March.

“Coffee has the ability to bring people together and have discussions about different topics,” Cobbins said. Opening Coffee at The Point “was about creating a positive space in the neighborhood.”

Shortly after the café reopened with in-person services in May, many of the discussions in that positive space have centered on racial justice and protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in Minneapolis while in police custody earlier this year.

Cobbins, who is African American, said dialogue is key to responding to the tension surrounding Floyd’s death. And those conversations, he added, shouldn’t necessarily happen among people who think alike but should occur among those who have different views.

“I think that is how change will come about,” he said.

PROTESTS AND A GLOBAL PANDEMIC

HAVE NOT STOPPED COFFEE SHOP

OWNER RYAN COBBINS FROM

SERVING UP A POSITIVE SPACE FOR

IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS.

PORTRAIT