Butter Notes Coffeehouse

Sean Dokko opened Butter Notes in February 2025 with an unusual ambition for a strip mall storefront in northeast Everett. He told KNKX he was chasing the feeling of walking off a busy Manhattan street and down a narrow staircase into Smalls, the gritty basement jazz club in New York. What he built instead sits behind a parking lot off Broadway, and it works.

The music is not a side attraction. Live jazz runs nearly every weekend and there is an open jam session every other Sunday from 6 to 8. Musicians play in the center of the room, directly in front of the long coffee counter and the pastry case, so there is no stage and no separation between the band and the tables. The room is fitted out for it, with sound paneling, velvet curtains and an upright piano.

The menu is Korean influenced and more interesting than the category suggests. Croffles, the croissant and waffle hybrid, and bingsu, Korean shaved ice, sit beside the lattes and desserts, and the shop serves wine, including a cabernet, which is how a coffeehouse gets to host an 8pm show. Seating runs to both tables and couches. There is also a bookable podcast studio on site, which tells you something about who has been using the space.

Getting there is easy in the way downtown is not. It is a strip mall, so parking is convenient and free, which matters if you are coming for an evening show. Public radio covered this place in August 2026 and OPB picked the story up, so the jazz room is not a local rumor. Cafe hours and show hours are different, so check the calendar rather than turning up.