Have you ever walked into a place, looked around and gave a satisfied sigh, thinking “This is where I belong”? The Bean Cycle is one of those places for me.
Located in Old Town Fort Collins, the Bean Cycle is always one of my favorite stops in Fort Collins. My sister-in-Law, K, introduced me to it several years ago and I’ve been enamored ever since. The Bean Cycle is part coffee shop, part local publisher, part bookstore and all good.
Every time I walk in I feel like I’m coming home. It doesn’t have that hipster vibe that drives me right out of most coffee houses. I feed my senses on the sounds of quiet conversation, the scent of coffee and pastry, the feel of wood floors, and the glorious sight of so many used books ready to go home with me.
In March, we popped in on a weekday morning for coffee and breakfast. The kids played games from the game chest on the loft. My parents nibbled breakfast sandwiches from the restaurant next door… I sipped my latte that was almost too pretty to drink and stole bites of P’s bagel. We all settled in for the full Bean Cycle experience, soaking it all up.
After breakfast we split up. I headed for the used books. Later, P, normally a reluctant reader, found me in the children’s book nook. He immediately found an enormous book of classic ghost stories and sat down to read it. He stopped every few paragraphs to beg me to buy it for him. (Thank goodness Grandma eventually caved.)
By the end of our visit we all ended up drooling over books. And most of us bought a few. P & I started reading his new-to-him book of ghost stories right away on the bench outside the Bean Cycle. I love that he’ll always remember our family visit to the coffee shop whenever he reads that book just like I remember the places I bought and read my books when I scan my bookshelves.
It just makes me feel good to support such a positive place. The bookstore, Wolverine Farm Bookstore, is volunteer run and relies on donations for most of its stock. Profits fund publication for work by local writers. Fresh and organic ingredients, local foods, genuinely friendly staff, and a passion for cycling are just some of the things that make me smile. Did I mention delicious coffee? And I’ve only begun to scratch the surface!
Fort Collins is just bursting with cool things to see and do, but make sure to make time for a bike ride to the Bean Cycle.
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*Post title created by P.
I love the name Bean Cycle, very clever and unique. Used books is a great way to keep recycling books. Do they take books for trade? Where do the used books come from? Ohhh, that latte looks so yummy.
I think they take books for trade or maybe credit. I’m not sure though since I’ve only ever bought books…never given any up! It sounds like they mostly depend on donations.