Glissade Coffee Is Aurora's Newest Cafe and Specialty Roaster

Aurora's newest addition to its burgeoning coffee scene is specialty roaster Glissade Coffee, which debuted in late March at 2520 Galena Street.

“Almost every single tenured professional didn’t get into coffee on purpose,” says founder and roaster Sean Harwin, whose journey to coffee began with a green apron. “I didn’t drink coffee when I had my first job in the industry. I didn’t understand it,” he recalls.

His tenure at a Starbucks didn’t last long, and soon after, he moved to Seattle and took over managing a bike shop, which happened to be next door to a specialty coffee roaster. When Harwin popped over to introduce himself, he began to see coffee in a new light. “From that point forward, I was enamored with what coffee meant and how it was served. I feel like the ultimate coming together of points now is a coffeehouse,” he explains.

Harwin began working as an apprentice, and spent nine years learning the trade before branching out on his own as a direct-to-consumer sales consultant.

When he and his wife, Laura Graham, moved to Denver in September 2021, they set down roots in the Central Park neighborhood because of the proximity to her job. After knocking on a lot of doors, Harwin found the location for Glissade, which is just a ten-minute walk from their home.
The cafe and roasting facility occupies 3,200 square feet in a building that also houses a gym, a children’s theater, a skin care acupuncturist, a bike shop, a wooden boat builder, and a ceramic manufacturer who did the tile work for Glissade as well as the painter who did its interior. "Being a part of this has been so rewarding to connect with so many of my neighbors," says Harwin, who also designed the space in collaboration with Moejo Designs.

"I knew I was going to essentially end up living here, being the business owner," he notes. "I wanted it to be a space that I would want to be in...to be open and inviting and relaxing." With natural light from the garage doors, an open concept with lots of seating (both with and without plugs), a community table, a recessed fireplace and view of the roasters, he accomplished that goal.

“To me, having a place for conversation and memories to be built with family and friends — it’s why I’m in this,” adds Harwin.

The name, Glissade, comes from one such memory. Harwin and Graham, both of whom moonlight as endurance athletes, got engaged at Mt. Adams base camp in Washington State, after which they summited the mountain and glissaded (or slid, using the help of an ice ax) down. “It’s also fun to say,” he notes.

Currently, Glissade closes daily at 3 p.m., but with a wine and liquor license, Harwin hopes to expand the hours in the future. A jack of many trades, he has his quarter-master sommelier pin, joking,“I know how to get drunk fancy."

It currently offers beer on tap, wine and champagne, and Harwin hopes to suss out the food menu with breakfast offerings like overnight oats and tapas that pair well with vino. In the meantime, customers can complement their coffee with pastries from Banh and Butter Bakery or a breakfast burrito.

Glissade, which celebrated its grand opening on March 25, is hosting a latte art throwdown on April 13. “I wanted to throw a party for the industry and say hello to all of our fellow coffee enthusiasts,” he says. “I feel so fortunate to be in a city that takes coffee seriously but doesn’t take themselves too seriously. In Seattle, it’s a bit more cutthroat, and that’s not who I am.”

"We have a lot of exciting things in the pipeline," adds Harwin, who also hopes to help rebrand the building that houses Glissade as the Central Park Collective in Aurora. There are twenty-some businesses located there in total, and Harwin thinks a rebrand will promote it as a hub for people looking for a place to shop and eat.

Whether you take your coffee to go or decide to stay for a while, you can expect Harwin, cafe manager Dess VanDerWeide and their team to make you feel at home.

Glissade Coffee is located at 2520 Galena Street, Aurora and is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit glissadecoffee.com.