Photograph by Sami Stewart
It was a backpacking trip though Vietnam that sparked Michele Burroughs’s idea of taking the leap and opening the café she and her husband Shawn Burroughs had dreamed about for so long. Last month she fulfilled that dream when she opened Apricot Coffee House in Pleasant Ridge: a slim, natural light–filled storefront on Losantiville Avenue decorated with pictures and paintings from Michele’s travels.
The name harkens back to their honeymoon, where they took shelter at a swanky hotel—think Grand Budapest Hotel, Vietnam edition—after backpacking through the country, sleeping outside, and showering with hoses. She wanted to provide the same comfort and hospitality she and her husband experienced at Apricot Hotel to the customers of Apricot Coffee House. She credits Shawn’s persistent encouragement for her ultimately going through with opening the business.
Photograph by Sami Stewart
Photograph by Sami Stewart
“I wanted to bring my travels here and showcase them some way, somehow,” she says. “I wanted to show people all the things you can get from different cultures.” The shop is open mornings and afternoons, but in the future Michele hopes to host events in the evenings centered around music, dancing, and cultural ceremonies.
Apricot offers a traditional espresso menu as well as drip, iced, and (of course) Vietnamese coffee, brewed from hometown roaster Deeper Roots’s beans. All milk drinks are served with Pomeroy, Ohio-based Snowville Creamery products. Non-dairy drinkers can choose from almond or oat milk in their lattes, and for folks who aren’t fans of coffee, they serve matcha and kombucha, among others.
Michele designed her menu to have something for everyone without offering an overwhelming amount of options. Five loose-leaf teas from Findlay Market’s Churchill’s, four “slicers” (thick-cut toasts piled with various sweet or savory toppings) using breads from Hyde Park’s Breadsmith, and three health-focused smoothies.
Michele says she hopes that Apricot will become a staple in the Pleasant Ridge community in years to come.
Apricot Coffee House, 3138 Losantiville Ave., Pleasant Ridge, (513) 407-8445, apricotcoffeehouse.com
Facebook Comments