Downtown Dispatch is back for a second semester and ready to tell you about so many great places to go to in the downtown Phoenix area. I am happy to be back, and I'm excited to share more hidden gems with you.
For those of you that are new to the DD blog, every week I share a new place to check out in downtown Phoenix, including restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and other areas of interest.
For my first post of the semester I would like to introduce you to the hip coffee shop located only a few minutes away from the downtown campus.
A few years back I was introduced to Cartel Coffee Lab, a small coffee shop located in a shopping center off of Ash in Tempe. At the time, Cartel was a one-location business that offered specialty coffees to those who were lucky to hear about the shop (it seemed like a hush, hush kind of place back then). Today, Cartel has two locations, one in Tempe, and one in downtown Phoenix that is only a five-minute walk from the ASU downtown campus.
The downtown Cartel location, 1 N. 1st Street, offers various coffee drinks, including lattes, americanos, and cappuccinos, and also has breakfast burritos and pastries (including the most delicious scones). The people who own and work at Cartel are very passionate about coffee, and I think that makes the experience of getting a drink from there even better. They always know where their beans come from, and will help you make a great drink choice if you don't know what to get. If you're asking me though, I would suggestion the cappuccino, but don't be in a rush when you order it because they won't let you take it to go (at least at the Tempe location that is the case).
The downtown location also offers this really great vibe that is perfect for sipping coffee and studying on your break. They always have good music playing, and it's usually pretty quiet in there (if you ignore the hum of the espresso machine that is).
So if you're looking for a new coffee shop to try in downtown, check out Cartel Coffee Lab off of First Street and Washington.
Cartel downtown is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Contact Chelsea at cebrown4@asu.edu.
