Three new coffee places with differing styles open, expand in Modesto, Riverbank
You’ll have three new options for that morning cup of joe soon in Stanislaus County, and none of them are named Starbucks.
The trio of new coffee places have either opened or are expanding in the county. The highly caffeinated businesses offer locals plenty of drink options and styles to choose from — from traditional espresso drinks to cold brews and colorful concoctions.
Trailer Park’d Coffee, a mobile coffee and specialty drink business out of Riverbank, recently celebrated its grand opening. Modesto’s Culture Coffee Bar, which has operated a food trailer since 2018, is expanding to open its first brick-and-mortar location. And West Coast cult coffee favorite Dutch Bros Coffee is getting ready to open its second Modesto location.
Trailer Park’d Coffee started as a pop-up table with tent in late summer of 2019, said owner Nicole Menezes, who runs the business with her husband, Nicholas. The Riverbank residents converted a 6-by-10-foot former taco truck into a shiny, inviting mobile coffee shop.
Menezes’ husband created the logo with its pink flamingos, and that theme carries through in the design with chrome and neon pastel color splashes. The tiny trailer is manned mostly by Menezes, but her mother and husband help out as well.
Trailer Park’d offers playful names, ambiance
Since launching the trailer in April, the business has moved around to various locations and events. But recently it found a home base at One Church in Riverbank every Friday. The trailer also can be found Tuesdays at the Riverbank Farmers Market. The trailer is available for special events as well, and customers are encouraged to follow its social media accounts for exact locations each day.
Trailer Park’d offers traditional espresso drinks, cold brews, iced coffees, blended drinks and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Menezes uses Modesto-based roasters Clayton Coffee & Tea for all her coffee.
She got her start caffeinating people while working at other cafes, including Starbucks and locally owned shops. She said that time sparked her passion for creating different drinks and coffees. She and her husband came up with the trailer park concept.
“We like to think up funny names for drinks and be more casual about it. With the trailer, we wanted to do something fun with it,” she said.
So on the menu you’ll find drinks like the Basic Hitch (vanilla), Dirty Monkey (banana and cinnamon) and Caramel Woffee (caramel, white chocolate, toffee). Drinks run from $4.75 to $5.50.
You’ll find Trailer Park’d from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays at the Riverbank Farmers Market on Santa Fe Street and Fridays at One Church, 6101 Oakdale Road in Riverbank (times vary). For more information, call 209-471-2898 or visit www.trailerparkdcoffee.com.
Culture Coffee opening cafe on McHenry
Like Trailer Park’d, Culture Coffee Bar had humble beginnings with a fold-out table and large coffee carafe more than three years ago. Then owner Jamie Griswold launched her own coffee trailer, a rehabbed 16-foot camper with a charming, arty look. She found success going to small events and craft fairs at first, and then in 2020 became a vendor at the Modesto Certified Farmers Market.
“It just sort of exploded with growth in the last couple of years. We hit a point where we can’t continue to grow from the trailer and need to have more space,” Griswold said.
So she is building her first brick-and-mortar cafe, which will continue the Culture Coffee Bar tradition. Griswold is going back to her roots with the location. She started as a trainer with Get Fit Modesto on McHenry Avenue and is taking over a portion of the former Sidelines space in the same complex.
Griswold launched a Kickstarter on July 31 to help pay for the renovations to the new location in the Hobby Lobby shopping center. Fans of her trailer fully funded the campaign’s $25,000 goal in just 10 days. Griswold and her team have already gutted the space and hope to have work done and be ready to open by the end of the year.
This is Griswold’s second successful Kickstarter campaign. Her first in 2018 raised over $12,000 to develop the trailer.
Like the trailer, the new cafe will offer a full range of espresso drinks in hot, iced, cold brew or blended. It also will have protein drinks and many house-made syrups. Expect the contemporary cottage look of the trailer to continue in the new 1,900-square-foot space, with a mix of modern and rustic decor.
The new cafe will also add food items including pastries and toasts, but will not have a full kitchen. Griswold wants to feature local artisans and other small businesses in the shop.
“I really liked the idea of bringing life to a space that has been empty for so long and filling it with something that can help the neighborhood,” Griswold said. “We want to be able to support other small businesses and introduce them to the community.”
In the meantime, find Culture Coffee Bar from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays at the Modesto Certified Farmers Market. For more information, visit www.culturecoffeebar.com.
Dutch Bros to open on Carpenter
And finally, Central Valley coffee lovers are getting very familiar with Dutch Bros. The Oregon-based coffee company opened its first location in Stanislaus County two years ago in Oakdale. Since then, it’s opened locations in Turlock at the corner of Monte Vista Avenue and Crowell Road and in Modesto on McHenry Avenue.
Now the planned second Modesto location on Carpenter Road is almost ready to open. Construction looks to be done on the new drive-through kiosk, and final touches and hiring are underway.
Dutch Bros Coffee spokeswoman Olivia Ortiz said the company is shooting to open in early or mid-September. For those worried about backed up cars along Carpenter, she said they have traffic mitigation plans in place — much like they implemented at the McHenry Avenue location, which has caused little to no congestion on the street.
Ducth Bros plans to hire about 40 to staff the kiosk, and applications are being accepted for “Broista” (what Dutch Bros calls its baristas). Applications can be filed online at www.dutchbros.com/employment.
Dutch Bros also has a second location planned for Turlock, on Golden State Boulevard in the Turlock Town Center. The site was home to Mundo’s Latin Grill, which has moved to a new space in the same complex.
The restaurant’s old building has already been torn down and the Dutch Bros kiosk shell has been constructed on the site. Ortiz said the second Turlock spot is “still a ways out.” But with the pace of recent Dutch Bros construction, sometimes as short as a four-month turnaround, it could still debut before the end of the year.
For more information on Dutch Bros Coffee, visit www.dutchbros.com.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
