Quills owner and president Nathan Quillo came from a background in social work, but fell in love with both coffee and the place that a great café can provide. After a few years of bouncing around coffee jobs, he took the plunge to open his own shop and roped his brother Gabe into helping him launch.
What makes your menu unique?
Our menu carries classic coffee shop fare, but we pride ourselves on our house-made syrups for our milk and alt-milk and espresso drinks. It was just another way to insert quality along the way, and make the flavors our own. Additionally, we always try to bring a few offerings that spark curiosity. From our Stranger in the Alps coffee mocktail, to our revolving coffee soda — both seasonal and signature drinks — allow for a café experience to offer something new each time you visit.
What is most exciting about specialty coffee to you?
So many hands touch this product we work with before it gets to us in the café, and not every guest that visits us experiences the breadth of that. We have the opportunity to tell those stories and nerd out with those who are psyched about coffee, and with others we can serve an incredible cup of coffee with a smile and no pretense. The ability to meet anyone where they are, yet still serve a product so excellent, is extremely rewarding.
What do you look for when sourcing coffee?
Quills loves the importers we work with, but we also want to develop lasting relationships with farmers and co-ops of the coffees we've come to love. When sourcing coffee, our Lead Roaster & Roastery Manager look for both accessible and adventurous coffees to fill out our lineup. That way, we can make sure that any person who walks in our door can find a coffee they will like.
Explain the principle ‘Quality for All’?
We want to provide a moment of inspiration in as many lives as possible. Whether that inspiration comes through brewing excellent coffee at home before heading to work, or a warm greeting when you visit a Quills café, we simply want to bring joy and inspiration through Quality for All.”