ON THE TABLE
A shot of the “opera building” circa 1950. Courtesy of K. Boodjeh Architects
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LARGE All-Meat Pizza
A Coffee and Chocolate Pairing on the Waterfront Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate and Humboldt Bay Coffee Co. are moving in together By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill jennifer@northcoastjournal.com
McKINLEYVILLE 839-8763
ARCATA 822-6220
EUREKA 443-9977
FORTUNA 725-9391
NCJ WHAT’S GOOD
Devouring Humboldt’s best kept food secrets. northcoastjournal.com/whatsgood Have a tip? Email jennifer@northcoastjournal.com
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NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 • northcoastjournal.com
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f all goes to plan, by this time next year, the sea air along Eureka’s waterfront could carry notes of coffee and chocolate. The former home of the North Coast Co-op, empty since 1992 and rehabilitated by the late Pierre LeFuel and Karen Banning, is to be home to an expanded Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate and Humboldt Bay Coffee Co. “More space means more goodies,” says Brianne Taylor, sales and marketing manager at Dick Taylor. That applies to the currently limited room for chocolate bars and baked goods, as well as tours and tasting events. The new venue is being designed for “more of a café experience.” Humboldt Bay Coffee Co. will follow suit, while keeping its main roasting facility off site, it’s leasing the spot on the corner of First and E streets to open a café of its own. Dick Taylor’s current digs are in Eureka’s so-called “extraction alley” on Fourth Street, zoned for cannabis production and thus able to command higher rent than is
practical for a chocolate company. Though the move is an expansion rather than a cost-cutting measure, as the bar-to-bean business hasn’t suffered the financial crush its owners first expected when the pandemic first hit. In March, co-owner Dustin Taylor says, “We laid everybody off for those two weeks thinking it was gonna be a rough year.” Instead, “We were fortunate enough to be in that spot where our business grew.” Before COVID-19, much of its income was from wholesale accounts that either sell or use Dick Taylor as an ingredient in their products, from locals like Slice of Humboldt Pie, Eel River Brewing Co. and Humboldt Cider, as well as far-flung businesses like Portland’s Salt and Straw, Winston Pies in Los Angeles, and coffee shops in the Bay Area and beyond. As those fell off, Brianne explains, the business pivoted to grocery store accounts and website sales, offering the enticement of free shipping. Online sales
