Boston Stoker Coffee Company presents the first annual Battle of the Baristas! It’s a full weekend of coffee, live music and food trucks! Enjoy free pour over coffee and espresso during The Battle of the Baristas prepared on a Modbar mobile unit by guest baristas at Yellow Cab Tavern.

In this two day competition 20 regional baristas will compete for the grand prize of a free trip to Kenya, including airfare, lodging and excursions! Baristas will have to create 3 different types of coffee beverages for 4 judges.

During the weekend they will also be hosting a latte art competition that will include 32 regional baristas competing for over $1500 worth of prizes.

“For all of our out-of-town competitors, we wanted to showcase some of the great music that’s being made here in Dayton,” Henry Dean, Boston Stoker President said. “We also wanted to make an event that would get the community excited to come and see what’s happening at the Battle of the Baristas.”

For live music, Friday night will feature performances from Shrug, M Ross Perkins, Adam Remnant and Manray and Saturday night will feature Speaking Suns, Starving in the Belly of the Whale, Gay Sharks (featuring PJ & Tommy of Motel Beds) and Forage.

“Dayton has a proud history with the bands that have come from here,” Dean said. “We are excited to be showcasing Dayton’s inventive spirit both through coffee and music.”

Saturday, Nov 12 – Final Round

Meet The Competitors:

Barista Shelby Lewis

Shop Name Boston Stoker

Website Bostonstoker.com

Shop Specs – We are a family owned company opened in 1973. Boston Stoker began selling cigars and tobacco while giving away free cups of coffee to customers. Over the years we have transformed into Dayton’s largest coffee roaster and expanded our retail locations to include Columbus.

What got you interested in becoming a barista? I love to learn new trades. Watching Baristas work on the espresso machine seemed challenging and rewarding. So, the first time I visited one of our shops, I was able to speak with the manager and set up an interview that day.

What is your favorite drink and why? I love to make cocktail-like drinks. Creating drinks that do not include steamed milk allows you to add in a lot of different ingredients that may react with the milk and curdle. Drinks that I create tend to be shaken or stirred with ice.

How long have you been a barista?I’ve been a Barista for 5.5 years.

Favorite thing to do outside of coffee? When I’m not behind the bar, I will be at home reading or watching TV with my husband, Shane, and 2 cats.

Barista Benjamin Tanen

Shop Name Brewpoint Coffee

Website brewpoint.coffee

Shop Specs We are a small shop in the suburbs of Chicago. Brewpoint’s focus is on Community and reaching people through coffee.

What got you interested in becoming a barista? My love and curiosity of coffee and the subtle intricacies behind it.

What is your favorite drink and why? Macchiatos. For me they are the perfect balance of milk and coffee and make for the perfect afternoon treat.

How long have you been a barista? 1.5 years

Favorite thing to do outside of coffee? Listen to and record music and explore the growing neighborhoods of Chicago.

Barista Zedeeka Fulay

Shop Name One Line Coffee

Website onelinecoffee.com

Shop Specs One Line Coffee represents the line from farmers to roasters to the customers. We provide a tangible partnership between coffee’s origins and its consumers.

What got you interested in becoming a barista? I was interested in being a barista because of it balance of art and science in creating coffee, as well as, the interactions and relationship you develop as a barista with your customers.

What is your favorite drink and why? That is a very difficult question, I don’t favor making one drink or another.

How long have you been a barista? I have been a barista for nearly 2 years.

Favorite thing to do outside of coffee? When I am not behind the bar, I am, either, playing music, reading, or writing. I am a classically trained pianist and violinist.

Feel free to let us know any other information you would like to share. I am currently a third year student at the Ohio State University with a double major in Psychology and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Barista Sean Hundley

Shop Nam One Line Coffee

Website onelinecoffee.com

Shop Specs I am from One Line Coffee in the Short North. We are the flagship store for the wholesale roastery and it’s been in operation for almost 5years. I’m the only original barista remaining. It’s an amazing location because we’re high traffic but committed to serving specialty grade coffee w/ out compromise. Also, we host our educational workshops at the SN location in our backroom cupping lab.

What got you interested in becoming a barista? My first coffee was an espresso from Donkey Coffee in Athens, Ohio and the barista took special care to explain certain details about the espresso I ordered. His service and passion made a big impact on me and soon after, they hired me. I began making and serving espresso for Donkey Coffee and was totally in love.

What is your favorite drink and why? My favorite drink to make is a single origin espresso and milk beverage. It’s an opportunity to showcase single origin espresso flavor and the baristas ability to steam and pour latte art. The drink seems to be the total encompass of the baristas craft.

How long have you been a barista? This is my 8th year of being a barista.

Favorite thing to do outside of coffee? Well… Work related: Leading public education programs is the best part of my job. So rewarding. Non work related: Family, exercise, music and food are my passions.

Barista James Blanchard

Shop Name Deeper Roots Coffee

Website deeperrootscoffee.com

Shop Specs Deeper Roots has been a wholesale, specialty roaster since 2011, and in April of 2016, opened a cafe in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati. I was fortunate enough to be on the original team, opening the shop, and it has been a beautiful journey, getting to know the neighborhood and the awesome people in it. We love getting to see the specialty coffee process through from the source to the cup.

What got you interested in becoming a barista? I have always loved the culture in and surrounding coffee. Being heavily steeped in the DIY scene, I had a very early exposure to cafe culture, and just decided to never leave.

What is your favorite drink and why? Nothing is more special to me than a good espresso. It’s not complicated or over-involved; it’s simple, beautiful, essential. It has the ability to show the true essence of a coffee.

How long have you been a barista? Since 2008

Favorite thing to do outside of coffee? Rock climbing with my wife, playing with my son, and running around in the back yard with my dogs.

Barista Travis Goodspeed

Shop Name Boston Stoker

Website bostonstoker.com

SHOP SPECS Boston Stoker was founded in 1973 as a tobacco shop. We started serving coffee as a free service to customers. It was so successful that we bought a roaster and began roasting coffee and selling it in the stores. From there, it morphed into our wonderful coffee company.

What got you interested in becoming a barista? Coffee has the potential to impact a lot of positive change. On a personal level, a barista can impact a person’s life by just serving a great cup of coffee while providing great customer service. On a socio-economic level, coffee can change the way businesses and economies function. I’m interested in that change – into a relational model, where the final customer who is being served a cup of coffee isn’t the only person that matters.

What is your favorite drink and why? Cappuccino. I can make the best latte art in a cappuccino.

How long have you been a barista? Almost 2 years.

Favorite thing to do outside of coffee? I love to hang out with my wife – watch movies, hike, play disc golf, play music etc… We are currently expecting our first child, so much of our free time is centered on our fetus – learning about prenatal development, doctor’s appointments, etc…

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Meet the Baristas

When you walk around the Oregon District, you take in some of the great places that people frequently visit. You have Omega Music and The Record Gallery for all of your music needs. If you are looking for an establishment to have dinner at, Thai 9 has become one of the premiere places to partake in. If you are looking for a night involving drinks, you certainly have your fill of the many options, with Lucky’s to Trolley Stop to Oregon Express and more.

The former Sidebar (photo by Tommy Johnson)

One establishment that you couldn’t help and check out when you were in the Oregon District was the sophisticated and trendy Sidebar. The lounge was very distinctive as opposed to other nearby bars with their exposed steel beams, old brick walls and hardwood pine floors that creak with every step. Sidebar’s sleek layout with a very stylish vibe gave the bar its own staple in the area.

Sadly, the crowds that flocked to the business each and every night will no longer be coming. The dim lighting that gave the bar an intimate vibe will no longer be turned on. The building that gave the neighborhood a suave, New York/Chicago vibe will become a building that will sit empty, collecting a colony of dust in the inside.

On July 30th, Sidebar owner Brian Higgins decided to close the doors of the bar for good after unpaid rent and taxes. Employees were not only told about the closing, but they also weren’t paid for weeks. If they received a paycheck, former employees would only see that check bounce. The men and women who gave their life to the bar, who sacrificed everything, now were left with nothing.

With the people of the now-obsolete hotspot becoming a thing in the past, and the folks of the Sidebar now having to find jobs, they still needed to figure out how they were going to make ends meet in their everyday life. With rent, utilities, insurance, children, and other things piling up, times are sadly going to be tough till they can get on their feet. In spite of all this, light streaked through the clouds.

Bob and Lisa Mendenhall, owners of the Oregon District’s popular watering hole Blind Bob’s hosted a benefit concert for the former employees of Sidebar that took place on August 7^th. Also that night, a raffle took place of prizes that were donated from companies located throughout the Dayton area. Some of the prizes were a certificate for a $50 payment to any utility company, pieces of art from local talent, t-shirts, 2 bottles of Grateful Dead vino, ton of CDs, steel tipped darts and a schnapps branded dartboard just name a few.

M Ross Perkins onstage at Blind Bob's (photo by Tommy Johnson)

The turnout was simply astonishing. The weeks leading up to the event, people went to the Facebook event page to not only voice their frustrations about the undoing of the establishment, but also show support. The closer the event came closer, the number of people going increased. As the night of the benefit show went on, Blind Bob’s became jam-packed.

The live music from all the bands was filled with a little bit of everything. The first band that came out to perform was Orange Willard. The five member band that is known for the grunge/prog rock sound stripped down and performed acoustic. The set was raw, intense, and emotional. M. Ross Perkins sang songs of businesses corruption and being hurt by phony people. Roley Yuma changed the pace of the show with their brass, unapologetic set of punk blaring thru the bar. Me & Mountains finished the show with their smooth indie rock sounds, giving the crowd a little bit of everything.

The night raised over $3300, giving some of the former employees of Sidebar a little help. The night also raised awareness of the depth of love that Dayton residents have for one another. Strangers coming together at a moment’s notice to help others in the time of need. Giving back to others who they have never met. It didn’t matter. The former employees of Sidebar will always remember this generosity.

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Editor’s Note: video footage courtesy of the great Gem City Diamond YouTube channel. We’ll be featuring more of their videos in the coming months here on Dayton Most Metro.