New Dusky Grouse Coffee shop offers beans and beats in Steamboat

Owner Stephany Traylor opened her new coffee shop, Dusky Grouse Coffee, at 1585 Mid-Valley Drive to bring the perfect blend of tasty coffee and great music to Steamboat Springs.
Traylor and her husband, Glen, renovated a space they owned in the Mid-Valley Shopping Center to create a welcoming gathering place filled with the aroma of roasted beans, espresso, latte, mocha and chai.
The coffee shop offers more than 15 different handcrafted coffee drinks, including lattes, cafè Americos, espresso and cortados. Traylor and her baristas serve up drip and pour selections for those looking for a warm beverage, as well as a number of cold drinks like iced mochas and spicy chai.
The menu also features ice tea, chocolate milk, cold brew and nitro, as well as bagels from the Colorado Bagel Co., croissants, cookies and breakfast burritos.
Dusky Grouse also has the distinction of being Steamboat’s only coffee and record store.
“We sell music, vinyl,” Traylor said. “I have always listened to records, and I have always had a love for the art of vinyl. I did not realize, honestly, when I came up with this idea that younger kids are listening to records now.”
Coffee and music are two of Traylor’s longest-held loves. Her first job was as a barista at a Starbucks near where she grew up in Seattle, and she has also worked at coffee shops in Park City, Utah, where she lived for awhile.
She said Dusky Grouse has also partnered with KEXP, a radio station in Seattle that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Traylor, who worked as an intern for the station, said the creative programming respects and inspires a person’s mind, heart and spirit.
“They are a nonprofit station that has a huge emphasis on mental health,” Traylor said. “I love music, and in the last year, and honestly my entire life, I’ve using music as a means of coping and as a tool to help you get through hard times.”
Her love of music has helped her celebrate the good times.
Customers will be able to listen to the music and disc jockeys from the radio station, and the store will also feature albums that are from sale. The shop’s staff will also play some of their album choices on the record player in the shop.
“We kind of have a motto that says, ‘Music matters, you are not alone,’ and of course, coffee because we do coffee,” Traylor said.
Dusky Grouse Coffee, which is named after a type of bird that lives in the Yampa Valley, is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days per week.
The shop’s walls are decorated with the work of local artists. Right now, local artist Brie Kole is featured.
“I like the idea of bringing in a new type of coffee from a new roaster — that’s exciting to me,” Traylor said. “The coffee itself is so comforting. I feel like most people enjoy a good cup of coffee to an extent, some people really enjoy their espressos, some people like their cappuccinos, and some people like their vanilla white chocolate extra whipped lattes, or whatever.
“We cover all the bases, and coffee is just a great connection point.”
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.

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