Stimulus Café and Coffee House in the Main Mall in downtown Durango aims to provide a cafe experience that is more family focused than other coffee shops around town.
“This is definitely the kind of place where you can come and just take a little breather and let your kids kind of wander and look at all the crazy stuff that's going on in here,” said Nicholas John Random, owner of Stimulus Café and Coffee House.
Random said before opening Stimulus, he went around to a number of local coffee shops and found there weren’t many options for families. Many of the coffee shops in town have liquor licenses and serve cocktails, he noticed.
“There are quite a few coffee shops in town, but they’re all very ‘adult’ coffee shops,” he said. “There’s nowhere for the kids to hang out, which I thought was a little weird. So I decided to open a more family-friendly coffee shop.”
Hanging bright art, playing happy tunes and even sometimes putting cartoons on are a few ways Random tries to create a kid-friendly space.
“I try to keep the whole environment of the shop very fun. I have art on the walls that is a little more fun, and I try to keep the music fun,” he said.
The family-friendly feature he’s most proud of is a nook filled with books he calls Durango’s Secret Library.
“I have a couple of people lined up to do kids’ book readings,” he said.
Another family activity Random is working on is having days where he replaces all the art in the shop with blank canvases to allow families to come in and grab a canvas and paint together.
“Families can come in and paint all day while they drink their coffee,” he said. “I always have lots of supplies on hand so it’s not something complicated where you have to have a bunch of your own stuff.”
Random said he always has hot cocoa and cookies ready for kids.
One of the most notable things on walking into Stimulus are the two walls filled with interesting coffee mugs. Random collects the most interesting mugs he finds online and in local shops, and puts them out for sale.
“I find new mugs just about everywhere you can imagine,” he said.
Random said he’s been open for a little more than a month, and business has been good so far. He said he’s gotten some positive feedback from customers, and is starting to get regulars in.
“I had a lady come in the other day, and she said she went to Starbucks and got a caramel latte, and after one drink of it she said, ‘This isn’t as good as it is over at Stimulus,’” Random said.
Stimulus isn’t the only coffee shop that has opened recently along Main Avenue. Mountain Monk Coffee opened near College Drive and Main Avenue, where a Starbucks used to be located. The Durango Herald reached out to the owners of Mountain Monk but received no response.
Random said he’s worked pretty much every job imaginable. He said he has a background working with children as a counselor at a couple of after-school programs. Before moving to Durango to open Stimulus, he was going to school to become an art teacher.
“I have a lot of experience hanging out with little kids,” he said. “Kids are hilarious.”
njohnson@durangoherald.com
