Neighbors Coffee Waves Hello with First Cafe in Rockville, Maryland

Inside the first brick-and-mortar Neighbors Coffee shop in Rockville, Maryland. All images courtesy of Neighbors Coffee.

Businesses in Rockville, Maryland’s Woodley Gardens shopping center gained a new neighbor this month with the opening of Neighbors Coffee‘s first cafe.

The shop occupies a 1,200-square-foot space previously occupied by a local bank alongside an Italian ice shop, a bakery and other local food and beverage establishments.

Guests are welcomed by a warm palette of creams and yellows and plenty of potted plants. Earthy red tile fronts the natural wood bar, which features a 2-group Slayer Steam LP espresso machine.

A black-framed glass pastry case with locally made goods also matches a Yama cold brew system towering alongside it, a fleet of black Mahlkönig grinders and dual black Marco SP9 pourover modules. Using UFO drippers with the SP9s, the shop currently showcases a Colombia-grown natural-process Wush Wush variety as a hot pourover coffee and a washed Pink Bourbon as a flash brew.

“Both are fruit-forward and offer an entry into lighter roasts for the community who may not have necessarily tasted these notes in coffee before,” Spencer Trach, co-founder and head roaster for Neighbors Coffee, told Daily Coffee News. “For automated pourovers, the Marco SP9s have been a huge hit and are honestly a dream as a barista.”

Founded by married business partners Spencer and Lulu Trach in January 2023 as an at-home roasting business with online sales, Neighbors Coffee expanded into in-person sales that September with beans and seasonal drinks at the Kentlands Farmers Market in Gaithersburg.

“We were out in the snow, rain, hail and extreme heat. It is honestly the best time,” said Trach. “We plan to get back to the farmers market as soon as we establish our operations here in the store. We can’t wait to get back.”

Trach roasts select Neighbors coffees in small batches on a pair of Aillio Bullet roasters inside the new cafe.

“I spend long nights roasting, but once in a rhythm, I can get about 20 roasts in one night,” said Trach. “I’ve enjoyed my time with the Bullets, as they have proven to be super user friendly. Most importantly, they seem to really get the best out of lighter roasts, which we are particularly fond of.”

To satisfy the new uptick in demand for cold brew, espresso and crowd-pleasing drip coffees, Neighbors currently also turns to Vancouver, Washington-based Kafiex Coffee for some core roasts. Kafiex is also training and advising the Trachs ahead of a capacity upgrade.

Pending permit approvals, a 15-kilo-capacity Geisen roaster will be installed at the front of the shop by year’s end, opening the door to expanded wholesale and whole-bean retail efforts.

Additional changes will take advantage of the preexisting bank features. The former vault will be transformed into a podcast studio, and the drive-through banking window will be transformed into a walk-up window for to-go orders. The former drive-through space will accommodate additional patio seating and outdoor events.

“This community is very special to me. [It’s] a community I grew up in and cherish deeply,” said Trach. “So it was important to me to make sure we were delivering a product, service and space that best served our community.”