Black Coffee Northwest softly opens in Ballard

After announcing plans to open a second location in the heart of Ballard, Black Coffee Northwest has started offering limited hours as part of their soft opening.

Black Coffee Northwest moved into 1713 NW Market St, the space formerly home to The Junk Drawer, which closed in May 2021. Black Coffee Northwest also operates at 16743 Aurora Ave N in Shoreline.

The community-first coffee shop will function as an event space until its big opening in the summer. Instead of having set open hours, Black Coffee Northwest will host weekly events with shop pop-ups and performing artists.

“Although we’re not opening our space in Ballard with full-time operations, we want to give the opportunity for local black artists in that area to showcase their work in our space,” Black Coffee Northwest founder Darnesha Weary told My Ballard.

The first event of the soft opening series was held on last weekend with live music, food, small businesses selling their goods, and of course, coffee. The next events are planned to happen on February 20 and 27.

Black Coffee Northwest will advertise more information about the upcoming events on their social platforms. Artists interested in performing and local businesses interested in participating in the weekly events can email the coffee shop at info@blackcoffeenw.com for consideration. 

“Black History Month is a month where there’s a lot of focus on black art and black culture. But we’re black past February. We want to make sure that we’re celebrating our culture and giving opportunities for others to be involved with that all year round,” Weary said.

Photo: Black Coffee Northwest