On the weekends I like to walk over to one of our neighborhood coffee shops to indulge in a latte and bagel for breakfast.  Over the past few years I’ve become a regular at Goldrush Coffee Bar.  With its brick interior, old hardwood floors, and rotating art, the vibe inside Goldrush is very Portland.  I tend to be a creature of habit and get the same breakfast almost every weekend so the baristas all know my order.  Occasionally around the holidays I order the pumpkin spiced latte and a peppermint mocha for my husband instead of the usual vanilla latte and regular mocha.  Also, during the hot summer days I’ll sometimes change my drink to iced for a real shake up.

Goldrush offers a variety of breakfast bagels and pastries for breakfast and soups and sandwiches for lunch.  Their coffee is superb and they also offer teas, juices, and soda.  Free wi-fi is available for customers to use and if you don’t have your own computer there are two waiting to be used.  Often small groups of people gather at Goldrush for various meetings or to study.  Since it’s such a cozy atmosphere, patrons tend to hang out reading the newspaper, playing board games, or working on their computers.

To add to the neighborhood feel of the shop, there is a corkboard and a couple small tables inviting people to post neighborhood events and drop off free magazines and newspapers.  The windows in the entry are always filled with fliers for upcoming events.  As a board member on The Eliot Neighborhood Association, I often will post ENA events and make sure a small stack of Eliot News is always on hand.  Along with the rotating art from local artists, Goldrush displays many old NE Portland photos which I love to admire.

Sometimes my husband and I will take our dog for a walk before stopping by Goldrush on the way home.  Oscar loves this routine since the shop has a free dog treat jar on the counter.  He waits semi-patiently outside while I get the much anticipated treat for him.  He then proceeds to entertain any onlookers by doing tricks for his treat.

The owners of Goldrush have been great neighbors over the years always willing to donate coffee and pastries for neighborhood events like the Friends of Trees plantings and neighborhood cleanups.  They donated and also set up a booth to sell their wares during our Dawson Park Summer Concert Series last year.

Goldrush Coffee Bar is located on the corner of MLK Jr Blvd and NE Russell Street.  The baristas will take pride in making excellent coffee drinks for you and their pastries, bagels, and soups are made fresh daily.