The fourth location of Dogwood Coffee Co. raised the bar on flagship cafes when it opened in Northeast Minneapolis last year. In addition to having ample outlets and seating for the roving laptop army, co-owners Greg Hoyt and Dan Anderson tapped a battalion of local creatives to fill the gallery-like space with original works of art.
Chief among them are Alec Soth, whose photography is featured behind the bar; Ashley Mary, who covered an entire wall with one of her color-happy paintings; and Skyline Neon founder Matt Thompson, whose cool light installation ties everything together. Even the furniture — seating from Blu Dot and booths made with recycled bottles by Intectural — is #MNmade.
The exterior, pictured up top, shows a large mural drawn by Montreal artist Benoit Tardif and brought to life by South Minneapolis sign painter Forrest Wozniak. The playfulness of Dogwood’s art collection spills over to its bathrooms, too. One has prismatic tiger wallpaper and Rocky’s favorite jock jam on repeat; another has a mint pair of Jam Master Jay Superstars hanging from the ceiling and “My Adidas” on blast.
None of this would matter if the coffee sucked, but of course it doesn’t. Dogwood brought in some new Mill City Roasters machines to meet its production needs and coax the best out of its espresso blends and single-origin stars, which include limited offerings from farms in Colombia (Nodier Andrade), Ethiopia (Bensa Kokosa), and Mexico (Emigdio Lopez Lopez Brigada). Head roaster Bryant Scannell, meanwhile, keeps the Zamboni cold brew as consistent as it is complex, making it one of our favorite iced coffees in the city — even in the dead of winter.
Dogwood Coffee Northeast & Roastery
1209 Tyler St. NE, Minneapolis, MN; 612-202-8986.
