Mike Simington never thought he would own a coffee shop, or any kind of food and beverage shop, for that matter.
He had never worked a day in the food service industry before committing to opening the coffee house that now sits at 545 East 8th Ave., nestled behind The 515 and The Standard apartment buildings.
Alchemy Coffee House opened its doors March 14 and celebrated its grand opening April 10, but the idea for the shop dates back two years, when Simington was on vacation.
“I was on a trip with my son in 2024 in Puerto Rico, and we went to this really great coffee shop in San Juan called B Squared. And my son said, ‘We should open a coffee shop like this, but near the B Squared (Bar & Grill) at our house in Eugene,’” Simington said. “So I said to him, ‘Well, if you’re serious, I’ll order you a book on Amazon, how to open and operate a coffee shop.’ He’s 14 years old, 12 when we first started talking about it. But I ordered this book, and he took it serious.”
Simington understands this sounds like a cute idea — and it is. But it’s also a lot of work.
“It’s really hard, so we’ve made a lot of little mistakes,” Simington said. “And it’s kind of a side project for us, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
He took over the space last October and dedicated the first three months to painting and shelving while building relationships with vendors and addressing behind-the-scenes demands like satisfying health department regulations.
When it came time to provide the space with personality, though, Simington turned to local thrift shops and unique vendors to find secondhand furniture with a history.
“The pews over there came from a church in Junction City, and they’re from 1942. I just love the history of having those here … I have good friends who sat on those pews when they were eight years old, because they grew up in Junction City,” Simington said. “So we have a few new things, but they’re the least interesting pieces that we have.”
100% of Alchemy’s coffee uses beans from local roaster Caffé Pacori, although the shop will begin to try coffee beans from other local roasters — Cafeto Coffee Company, Farmers Union, Equator Coffee Company — periodically.
All coffee-lover basics are on the menu, as well as a handful of non-coffee-based drinks such as passionfruit iced tea and tea imported from London. The house special is a Golden Elixir.
“It is our espresso infused with some honey. Once that sits, then we’re going to add some cinnamon in, a little bit of vanilla, then you do a golden Milky Way on top,” manager Kathryn Fulford explained. Simington credits Fulford with keeping the shop running smoothly and making the start-up process fun.
Pair any drink with a pastry from The Flour Garden, a Eugene bakery partnering with Alchemy to provide sweet treats from salted caramel chocolate sandwich cookies to hand pies.
Alchemy intends to expand its menu to include more savory items, as well as certified gluten-free and relatively substantial items like breakfast sandwiches and burritos.
“The focus really is coffee and getting that nailed down first,” Simington said, not rushing to have Alchemy be considered a breakfast or brunch destination.
The main challenge, currently, is getting customers in the door, considering the shop lies in the shadows of The 515 and The Standard and doesn’t experience natural foot traffic. But if Alchemy lies in the shadows of said complexes, imagine how close that must make them to the respective front entries on East Broadway: a two-minute walk.
Nearby residents just need to walk a block in the wrong direction, Simington joked.
The nearing summer is another stressor, particularly for a new company with a student-heavy customer demographic, but Eugene has proven to be a community full of business owners who are welcoming of new owners, with their best interests in mind.
“We’ve gotten great support from vendors and a lot of nice comments from just the local businesses,” Simington said. “So it’s just reassuring that we’re headed in the right direction.”
