Our Story

In the early 1980’s, Seattle grabbed the “hip” crown and profoundly influenced sound, fashion, business, and language. Grunge was known as the “Seattle sound”… everyone, everywhere was wearing Seattle inspired flannel… Microsoft was releasing Windows 1.0, and a new language, using terms like “double tall”, was forming This new language told the story of the people enjoying coffee exactly as they desired, prepared with expert attention to detail.

At the bottom of Seattle’s swanky Queen Anne Hill, a small coffee shop — Uptown Espresso — was attracting an avid following of discerning coffee drinkers. Uptown’s proprietary coffee roast, a cool atmosphere and something called Velvet Foam. Seattle foamed milk… so we might want to consider giving them a key to the city.

We would happily accept a key to the city, although prefer introducing you to Uptown Espresso at one of our 6 stores, and to many of those same attributes that attracted our first customer 30 years ago.

It all began in 1985 when a local dock worker named Oscar Delaloye brought imported coffee beans home to roast. The rich aroma captivated his neighbors and spawned a door-to-door coffee business. Eventually, Oscar’s horse-drawn carriage venture grew into a company he called Seattle Tea & Coffee. Oscar set up shop in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market.

Three generations later, Oscar’s great grandson Dow Lucurell took a job as a barista at the newly opened Uptown Espresso. In a career choice of destiny, Dow’s love of Uptown’s quality, customers, and Velvet Foam, led him to eventually buy the Queen Anne shop.

After Dow Lucurell’s passing last July 2018, Paul Odom — owner of Fonté Coffee Roaster — acquired Uptown Espresso. Today, Uptown Espresso continues to serve a growing legion of discerning coffee devotees, with 6 shops located throughout Seattle.

Uptown’s best history comes in every newcomer who discovers great coffee, from-scratch baked goods and Velvet Foam for the first time.