Lucky's Coffee Roasters

Ten medals at Golden Bean Americas 2024, four of them in pour-over filter, is a lot of hardware for a first competition entry. The Kenya is where Tyler Smith shows his work — Jacob Kibiri at Rhino Farms in Nakuru County, with varietal, altitude and the import partner named alongside — and the roastery that turns it out sits behind this counter, in what used to be a Starbucks.

• pour-over
• getting work done
• beans to take home
• patio seating

Lucky's roasts at this address, and the transparency showpiece is a direct-trade Kenya traced to Jacob Kibiri at Rhino Farms in Nakuru County, though no bag on the site carries a roast date.

The room is a former Starbucks that Tyler Smith took because everything inside was already set up for coffee, then opened up until it stopped feeling like one: original high ceilings, glossy white subway tile up the back wall, rustic wood along the base of the bar. The patio is big enough to count as a second room, and the roastery that supplies the whole company runs right next door.