Although it started in a garage in Santa Cruz about six years ago, Midnight Coffee Roasting has had a home on West Second Street for a couple of years now. This month, the brand opened a second shop, this time in Midtown, with a new concept and the same great coffee.
Midnight has built its reputation on its big-bodied coffees, roasted here in northern Nevada, brewed under the tagline, “Easy to Love, Hard to Forget,” which is plastered on both location’s walls. And those beans have helped the owners create a brand from their downtown shop, located at the base of a flexible living high-rise. With skateboards on the walls and pastries sourced from local hotspots like Lox, Stock and Two Smoking Bagels and Doughboys Donuts, they’ve found success.
On Saturday, March 9, a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce was held to celebrate the opening above The Biggest Little Steakhouse on South Virginia Street. Bars have cycled in and out of that location each with its own theme, but this marks the first time, in recent years at least, that a coffee shop has called the upstairs space home.
While the backbone of the business is the same, the model is different. Owners brought on a chef, Nick McLellan, to curate a menu that works with their varied hours. For example, the shop routinely opens at 7 a.m. but stays open until midnight on weekends.
The space was created to be a community hub and on the backs of community support—the owners even used Indiegogo to raise funds for the new location. During the day, people are settled throughout the two-room space on laptops, ordering coffee and breakfast while working on their own projects.
At night, however, the vibe is different. While coffee is still served, there’s also a run on beer. With some grub still available, you can snack and hang out until the doors close.
Regardless of the time of day, this location offers some of the best seats in the house. After all, there aren’t a lot of second-story or rooftop locations in town, so when you’re able to open your bar up to views of the surrounding mountains, it’s not hard to get people to come in.
The food is incredible, coming from the hands of an award-winning chef. Breakfast is hearty with a trio of burritos ranging from the spicy Sagebrush Sizzler to the hearty Big Bad Bacon Burrito. There’s also a Desert Bloom, which offers a nod to Reno culture that locals will appreciate and stands out as a delicious vegan option featuring vegan chorizo and mozzarella.
Breakfast sandwiches are the other main category, made on Lox, Stock and Two Smoking Bagel bagels or sourdough bread and featuring a range of combinations from the Plain Jane (eggs and American cheese) to the Homestead Ham (ham, figs, a fried egg and provolone). The other three options are reminiscent of the burritos described above with a slightly different application.
For lunch, there’s a lineup of bowls, including the Midnight Mash Bowl, featuring ground beef, spinach, rice, bell peppers and bone broth with the option to add an egg, and the Ranchero Cheesy Spuds, made with breakfast potatoes, roasted peppers, eggs, cheddar cheese and hollandaise sauce.
The coffee menu is long, featuring everything from drip coffee to frappes, plus signature drinks with a bit more personality. Other options include teas, refreshers, energy drinks, lemonade, juice, bone broth, a selection of smoothies and more. Beer and wine offerings rotate.
The indoor interior was completely redone with a skeleton meets coffee mural on one wall and a cool exposed brick wall behind the bar. The coffee beans, just like downtown, are for sale, as well.
While the previous tenants have not often lingered long, I hope Midnight will have a different experience, perhaps in part due to its creative concept of taproom meets restaurant meets coffeeshop. Buy coffee beans and merchandise online at midnightcoffeeroasting.com.
Addresses
- 241 W. Second St.
- 1401. S. Virginia St., Ste. 250
