This couch was Thayer's grandmother's, and it was purchased 50 years ago in the very same building. Now, customers can lounge on the antique couch while enjoying a latte.
THE DALLES — The Dalles downtown offers shops, parks and restaurants. Community spaces like the The Dalles Art Center are open for public education, art murals decorate the streets, and events like First Friday bring folks from all over the Gorge to shop and eat.
A new gem in The Dalles, The Coffee Shop, was opened on April 5 by owner Amanda Thayer.
Sharing space with a DIY craft store next door, Thayer has worked to create an independent café that remains close to the community. “If I were to have a mission statement it would be something like ‘just do it with love,’” she said.
Thayer has been a barista for nearly 20 years. She spent almost a decade at 10 Speed Coffee on the Heights in Hood River, later working at Randonee Coffee Co. in Mosier for local roaster Bryan McGeeny.
This February, Lindsey Giamei, owner of The Workshop, enlisted Thayer’s help to start a joint space for crafting and coffee in The Dalles.
This couch was Thayer's grandmother's, and it was purchased 50 years ago in the very same building. Now, customers can lounge on the antique couch while enjoying a latte.
Laurel Brown photo
“The rest is history. Bryan’s been really supportive and super stoked, even though he was short-handed when the opportunity came up,” Thayer said.
The relationship between The Coffee Shop and The Workshop is symbiotic. “I am a separate business but we are best friends,” Thayer said. She said people like to browse the crafts and gifts while getting coffee, and patrons of The Workshop are pleasantly surprised to see a café so close.
Since opening, the experience has been exhausting but encouraging. “It’s been going better than I ever could’ve imagined. The support is really great and people seem really excited about the space,” said Thayer, also noting she was looking forward to her first day off in a month.
Thayer thrifts all of her own antique cups and jars for decorating the cafe.
Laurel Brown photo
The most surprising thing has been how popular her food menu is, with items like avocado toast, a breakfast sandwich, and homemade sriracha honey. Another fun quirk to the space is Thayer’s unique décor — mostly thrifted items that each have a special story behind them.
Thayer’s prized décor is her antique couch, a 1970s piece that her grandmother purchased 50 years ago inside the same building that The Coffee Shop is now in. She described her café’s look as “fun, retro, party-basement vibes” and is thrilled to have a shareable space to display her favorite thrifted possessions.
“I really want to emphasize how I want everybody to feel really comfortable and welcome here,” Thayer said. “I love being a barista and making coffee, and I just want people to feel love when they come in here and leave The Coffee Shop and spread more love.”
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