The Coffee Oasis Tacoma

The Coffee Oasis is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in Washington in 1997 by Dave and Cindy Frederick and now led by their son Daniel. It runs four cafes, in Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and here. Its own tagline is creating opportunities for youth to thrive, and its about page describes restoring community through compassionate youth programs and coffee businesses.

The Tacoma site is more than a cafe. The same address carries The Loft, a youth shelter, and The PORT, a drop in center, along with crisis services, case management, mentorship and job training, and barista training is part of that last one. The organization states that 100 percent of proceeds support these programs, and that it works with young people aged 13 to 25.

The coffee is roasted by the organization itself, in small batches at its Bremerton cafe and roastery on Burwell Street, so a cup here is Kitsap roasted rather than Tacoma roasted. Food runs to breakfast sandwiches, soup, salads, sandwiches and snacks. No individual drink is named anywhere public, so none is named here.

Hours are short and worth planning around: 7am to 1pm Monday through Friday, closed at weekends. That is the earliest close of the four Coffee Oasis cafes, and nothing published explains why, so this entry does not attribute it to staffing or to the shelter. It sits on the same stretch of Tacoma Avenue South as Common Ground.