Annapolis coffee, wine bar opens on West Street
A new coffee and wine bar opened Wednesday on West Street, offering fresh brewed coffee, homemade scones and muffins as well as a glimmer of hope to Annapolis residents eager for a return to normalcy.
Joel and Colleen Bunker are the co-owners behind Curate Coffee, Wine and Kitchen located at 141 West St. in the Annapolis Arts District. After the coronavirus pandemic delayed the shop’s opening by about four months, Bunker and his wife, who also own Brown Mustache Coffee located inside Old Fox Books on Maryland Avenue, are hopeful they can be successful and help create a sense of community in the area more people get vaccinated and pandemic restrictions begin to lift heading into spring.
“There’s easier ways to make money but it’s investing in the community and relationships and providing an amazing service,” said Bunker, a school teacher who also runs the local nonprofit Grow Annapolis.
“We enjoy serving people and connecting — coffee and food are a way to connect with people,” he said.
The shop offered a smattering of what Bunker hopes will become a much broader and rotating menu, including sweet and savory scones, muffins and danishes, all baked in-house. The shop also has a license to sell wine on and off-site.
The interior has also been specially designed to feel like a coffee bar in the morning and afternoon and can be transformed into a wine bar at night, Bunker said. When pandemic restrictions lift, the shop will have indoor and outdoor seating for 40 people.
Moving forward, Bunker said he hopes to include more lunch offerings and to-go boxes that would include items like wine, charcuterie boards and coffee. There are also plans to have a rotating menu of coffees from both local and nationally renowned roasters.
The store’s hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The opening also comes at a time when officials are loosening restrictions surrounding gatherings with restaurants now able to seat 50% of occupancy while following other health guidelines. Cases in Anne Arundel County have leveled off and three different vaccines are not being rolled out across the country.
Joe Geiman and Gina Henderson, who live a few blocks away, stopped in for a cup of coffee and a scone. The pair said they were excited by a new location to open during the pandemic, especially as many restaurants, coffee shops and other food establishments have opted to shutter permanently in the last year.
“We’ve seen a lot of places close, and it’s nice to see one open,” Geiman said.
Some businesses have opened during the pandemic, including two West Street businesses, Annapolis International Market and Dangerously Delicious Pies a few blocks away, but the predominant story of the pandemic was shuttered doors, some forever, while others scaled back staffing, hours and services.
Henderson said she was excited to see a coffee shop in this part of town.
“Annapolis is a walking town, and it’s so lovely to have more places within walking distance,” she said. “We always tend to go downtown for coffee, so it’s fun to be able to turn the other direction and walk up West Street.”
Another customer, Linda Jordan, of Crofton, said she has generally avoided coming to Annapolis during the pandemic but said she felt very safe inside the shop thanks to its plexiglass dividers that separated customers from the coffee bar. She also wanted to support the new local business because her friend worked there.
“They’ve done an amazing job. I feel very safe coming in here. They’ve taken great precautions,” she said.