New Hours and Special Offer!  There are some updates to share from Denizens Cafe that we think you'll appreciate. Before we get to that, a story... An immigrant arrived to Boston harbor on May 26th, 1636—Christopher Helme. Christopher’s name appeared on the founding documents of a little settlement named Exeter that was founded in 1638. Christopher had a son, who had a son… and eventually one of the sons opened Denizens Cafe. A "Denizen" is an immigrant who makes a place home, much like my family and likely many of your families did. At Denizens Cafe we like to acknowledge who we ..read more

Espresso is back!   After losing our espresso bar back at the end of 2022, we’re thrilled to announce that we are back to serving espresso and pastries, just now at Denizens Cafe! Now, in addition to our all-day brunch menu, you can order a latte, mocha, croissant, sweet roll, and more! Don’t miss out! A Taste of Excellence We believe that every sip should be an experience. This is why we've curated an espresso menu that is inspired by our missed and much-loved Rocky Butte Espresso Bar. Our espresso, made from our Mean Street roast—a bold, rich, chocolatey pow of flavor that breaks thr ..read more

    Denizens Cafe Update: I bet you’ve been wondering how we’re all doing over at our new space: Denizens Café. We’ve been open since June 1st of this year, and it’s been a whirlwind—i.e., exhausting, especially for James. He’s given his heart and soul cleaning, planning, prepping, and creating a space and menu we are proud to serve. We’ve also brought on new people we couldn’t do any of this without, and who can finally give James a much-needed break. If you’ve been in recently, you’ll notice our menu has been updated! We’re doing more brunch-style—because who doesn’t love b ..read more

Coffee at home, so many options! When I am asked "What is your favorite coffee?" it's such a tough question! I have so many favorite coffees. I usually respond by saying, "I guess it depends on the brew method." I have a favorite category of coffee for every brew method. Espresso: If I'm pulling a shot of espresso, I like something with low acid, something rich and balanced. We exclusively used our Mean Street at our cafe before we were forced to close. Unfortunately I don't have an espresso machine at the house... something that I may need to remedy.   Moka Pot: Without a home espresso ..read more

 Shown is the Rocky Butte Community flag More Ways to Help The Rocky Butte Espresso Bar is closing its doors on December 31st, 2022. If you have not already, you can read more about that here. We could use your help. If you are looking for ways to support us, we have some suggestions below: Start a coffee subscription This is a fast and tangible way to help us meet payroll and generate revenue we hope to put toward a new espresso bar—all while getting something delicious in return Help us find wholesale and retail opportunities that can sell our coffee Do you know of any: reta ..read more

Friends and neighbors, We are deeply saddened to announce that Saturday, December 31st Rocky Butte Espresso Bar will be closing. This does not mean that Rocky Butte Coffee Roasters is closing entirely.  So, what happened? A few months ago, we hired a broker and attorney to help with negotiations for a long-term lease. We initially thought that we were going to reach an agreement with our landlord. When we received the actual lease to sign, we realized that it contained many troubling details that were new to the conversation, and when we tried to clear things up, we were abruptly evicted ..read more

The first few years of operation we would hand stamp each and every coffee bag. A series of large rubber stamps, a black ink pad. Ink, press...ink, press. It was great! And then we grew and grew some more. As we grew, hand stamping increased from stamping a few minutes to stamping for what seemed like an eternity and it began to take a toll on our bodies. We looked at a few options for alternate printing. One option was to print labels, another was digitally printing our bags...both of those are still options...but not as awesome as what we ended up doing. We found a way to keep our design sim ..read more

Meet James Owner and founder of Rocky Butte Coffee Roasters, James was born in Lincoln City, Oregon. In 2005, after a stint in the military, he and his wife Sheryl brought their children, Seth and Lily, to the Rocky Butte neighborhood of Portland while James pursued an MBA at Concordia University. After years of associating coffee with a stale, burnt taste, James and Sheryl spent some time learning to brew their favorite cup of coffee. Deeply passionate about their community, James began to see coffee as a vehicle for relationship, a reason to get together—and so, the concept of “People ..read more

The Beech Street Community Garden (it's really a farm nowadays) is selling plant starts and will use the funds to buy material to continue to maintain and expand the food that is grown.  When: Saturday, May 21st from 11am to 2pm Where: 8505 NE Fremont St. Portland, OR. 97220 (outside the espresso bar). What: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, strawberries, sedum, lettuce and more! Emerging Ecology Across the Neighborhood An emerging ecology is an exciting sign. Ecology "the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings ..read more

The Rocky Butte Farmers Market at the base of Rocky Butte in Portland, OR will be opening as a weekly market June of 2022. The first year, pre-pandemic, the market held two separate pop-up markets while being hosted by the Dharma Rain Zen Center. Year two the leadership team continued to grow and expand the market to a monthly basis. The host site the last two years has been the parking lot of Mannahouse Churches Rocky Butte campus. The site has a large parking lot  that can accommodate significant vehicle parking. A successful weekly market greatly expands healthy and farm-direct f ..read more