Whidbey Coffee Burlington Marketplace

Whidbey Coffee's Marketplace Drive store is the roomy one of the company's two Burlington locations: a cafe with a drive through window, set directly above The Home Depot and the Skagit River and about half a mile south of The Outlet Shoppes at Burlington. The company's own page for the store lists couches, a plant wall and an indoor and outdoor fireplace, plus a free community room for 12 to 14 people that takes reservations.

The company started in 1989, when founder Dan Ollis bought an espresso cart and worked it at local fairs, and its site now lists 13 locations across Whidbey Island, Skagit County, Mukilteo and Kirkland. Whidbey Coffee has roasted its own since buying Seattle's Victrola Coffee Roasters, though it does not say publicly where the roasting happens. The house blends are Whidbey Blend and Founder's Blend, and the drink the company calls its signature is the Frozen Moka.

The store page promises pastries the company makes itself, along with paninis and salads, and says the menu carries gluten free and vegan options. Seating runs to many tables inside, a couch, and a spacious patio that gets the outdoor side of the fireplace, with a parking lot for anyone who would rather come in than wait in the drive through line.

The Marketplace Drive store is open 6am to 7pm every day. Burlington's other Whidbey Coffee, on South Burlington Boulevard, is a drive through, so this is the one to pick for a seat, the fire or the community room. The Gages Slough Trail runs just north of the outlet mall for a walk afterward.