Pegasus Coffeehouse opened last week at 1280 Centaur Village Drive, in the former MeCo Coffee Collective space. Lafayette couple Marc Gacy and Sonja Toutenhoofd co-own the cafe, which is within walking distance of Centaurus High School and Waneka Lake. The shop is in a soft-opening phase as the owners work toward a regular routine.
The venture followed Gacy’s layoff in 2025. The idea took shape in May 2026, according to Colorado Hometown Weekly. The couple subleases the space from MeCo for two years, with the possibility of leasing directly from the property owner afterward. An April 2026 sublease listing from Market Real Estate advertised it as a turnkey coffee shop, with three floor sinks and a 1,000-gallon grease trap already in place.
The owners are shaping the former MeCo storefront around coffee, music and neighborhood gathering. Their plans include both a distinctive menu and events intended to bring people into the cafe.
A Molé Cortado and a Grand Piano
Gacy plans to work on the shop floor most days and has developed a signature molé cortado, made with half a pump of chocolate sauce and a small amount of chipotle powder, according to the Hometown Weekly report. Pegasus serves coffee roasted by Denver-based Novo Coffee, founded in 2002 by Herb Brodsky and his sons Jake and Joe around a direct-relationship sourcing philosophy the company calls Get Closer. Boulder County vendors supply baked goods, burritos and other treats.
Toutenhoofd, a local piano teacher, hopes to use the cafe for recitals, open mic nights and other community events, the report said. A grand piano is already in the space. She also plans to repurpose burlap coffee bean bags as ceiling sound baffles; community members have donated furniture, books and board games, and the owners are still seeking coffee mugs.
Lafayette’s Public Arts Landscape
Pegasus’s hoped-for performances would sit alongside existing public arts programming: the City of Lafayette’s Art Night Out features live music and other public activities. The city’s Arts and Cultural Resources Department says it promotes and supports local arts, cultural and historic resources. The cited city pages describe programming and the department’s role, but do not identify specific venue needs or limitations for Pegasus’s proposed events, or indicate city endorsement of them.
Mentors From the Local Coffee Scene
Pegasus is joining a local coffee scene where established businesses have offered practical support. Owners of OTIS Craft Collective—which began in Lafayette in 2012 as Proper Grounds Coffee Roasters before rebranding—and The Read Queen Bookstore & Cafe advised and encouraged the couple, according to the Hometown Weekly report.
The report also described support from Gacy and Toutenhoofd’s coffee-industry peers: Toutenhoofd said fellow operators had been encouraging, while Gacy said baristas he had worked with helped brainstorm menu ideas.
A Built-In Neighborhood Audience
Location may work in the new owners' favor. Centaurus High School, just a short walk away at 10300 S. Boulder Road, enrolls 1,557 students in grades 9 through 12 within the Boulder Valley School District, according to Public School Review, representing a daily pool of potential customers for morning and after-school drinks. Nearby Waneka Lake Park spans 147 acres around a natural spring reservoir originally constructed in 1865, per the City of Lafayette, drawing steady weekend foot traffic from walkers and families.
Pegasus Coffeehouse opened last week. Whether the couple eventually secures a long-term lease beyond their two-year sublease, and how quickly they can grow their slate of community events, remains to be seen as the shop settles into its new routine.
