Alyssa Drexel serves up delicious hot coffee with a smile.
Richard's Fine Coffees Celebrates 25th Anniversary
by James Coulter
What better way to start your morning than with a cup of freshly-roasted coffee and a freshly-baked pastry? While most other coffee shops and eateries expect customers to take their items and go, Richard’s Fine Coffees invites their patrons to sit back, relax, and linger awhile. After all, they’re more than customers: they’re family. “All too often, we found that a visit to a local establishment meant you were expected to dine and depart. Turning tables and herding you through like cattle was their goal,” their website states. “We at Richard’s wanted to create an environment where time was just a distant thought. Where you could get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Drift off, if you wish, into another world.” For many regular customers, drifting off into 6 JUNE 2021
another world is simple. The overall laid-back environment allows them to take up a seat, either near a window or on the patio. There they can relax while taking a sip of their coffee or bite of their pastry, then tune out the real world through the white noise of the trickling fountain and with a book in hand—preferably from the library next door. Of course, like any good coffee shop, their coffee is their biggest draw. They source as many of their beans from local roasters as possible for their coffee beverages, which range from traditional drip-coffees to specialty drinks like lattes, mochas, frappes, and kombucha. Their pastry menu has quadrupled since first opening, and now they offer a diverse selection of sandwiches and salads for breakfast and lunch. “Today, we continue to maintain the traditional values of hard work and the attention
to detail that are essential to providing coffees of distinction,” Their website states. “Where people can gather to share good conversation, good music, and great coffee, we at Richard’s hope to offer you moments in time that will not be forgotten.” Twenty-five years ago, David Tuttle was seeking an opportunity to start a business in Polk County. He wanted to open an establishment that was genuinely new and unique to the area, something that wasn’t open or available in the county that could quickly meet high demand. An independent coffee house seemed to be the best candidate, so that’s when he decided to open Richard’s Fine Coffees. “As we looked around at various types of food and beverage establishments, we found there was nothing that indicated or showed there was a coffee house like it in this market, so we researched coffee houses and felt this
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