Brick Road Coffee is getting ready to pour its first cups in Phoenix, with plans to open its third Valley location inside The Royale in the Melrose District in mid-October. The new cafe will take over a 600-square-foot space at 635 W. Glenrosa Ave., No. 109, replacing the former Window Coffee Bar outpost within the development.
From Tempe Roastery to a Phoenix Storefront
According to Phoenix New Times, Brick Road Coffee got the keys to the Melrose space in September and is now readying it for customers. Co-founders Gabe Hagen and Jesse Shank opened the company's first location on Rural Road just south of Route 60 in Tempe before gradually adding a second shop in Mesa and their own coffee roastery, according to the same report. Hagen described the move into the neighborhood as a homecoming, per the outlet.
The company calls itself a queer-owned specialty coffee roaster and community space in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona, according to Brick Road Coffee's own website, and it says it is now opening its third home at The Royale in Melrose. The company was founded in Tempe by Hagen and Shank, per Empower Coffee Roasters, which also describes the original Tempe cafe as the company's flagship and community anchor.
What's Changing Inside The Royale
The Brick Road team is refreshing the paint, adding a new countertop and a cozy booth to the space, per Phoenix New Times' reporting. The menu is expected to stay consistent across all three locations, with specialty coffee drinks and a small food menu, the outlet notes. The new cafe will offer both indoor and outdoor seating, and Hagen hopes to use The Royale's courtyard — which includes artwork and patio seating — for events and collaborations with neighboring businesses, according to the same account.
Brick Road Coffee is described as an inclusive space for the queer community that supports local LGBTQ+ organizations and sources beans from companies and farms aligned with its mission, per the seed reporting. Hagen said the company encourages people to connect with the community and aims to create welcoming spaces built around great coffee, the outlet reports. Brick Road's cafes also host events, including craft nights and an annual trunk-or-treat art market each fall, according to the same source.
Melrose's Own First Friday Debut
The Melrose District recently started hosting its own First Friday event, and Brick Road popped up with a table in September, per the report. That local gathering has been described elsewhere as the neighborhood's own spin on Phoenix's better-known art walk, according to an Eventbrite listing for the series, though that characterization comes with lower confidence than the rest of the reporting here.
Once the Melrose shop is ready, Brick Road plans to host a hiring fair in the courtyard, followed by a grand-opening party that the company intends to keep going for the rest of October. The timing lines up with Phoenix Pride, which is scheduled for October 11, adding another draw to the district during the same stretch the cafe hopes to open its doors.
A Third Stop for a Growing Coffee Family
Brick Road Community Corporation says it brought Mesa's Empower Coffee Roasters into its family in 2024 while keeping that shop's name and identity intact, according to Empower's own site. The Mesa location is also home to a full kitchen and an art-forward space, the same source notes. Brick Road's existing Tempe cafe sits at 4415 S. Rural Road, No. 10, and its Mesa location is at 1337 S. Gilbert Road, No. 120, according to Phoenix New Times.
The company says it plans continued growth, community partnerships and what it calls bold storytelling in the years ahead, per Empower Coffee Roasters' description of the broader Brick Road family. For now, Melrose neighbors can expect the same drink lineup that built Brick Road's following in Tempe and Mesa, including the cinnamon roll latte made with vanilla, white mocha and cinnamon, the cereal milk latte, and the Flying Monkey, a mix of Irish cream and double espresso.
