Welcome to Issaquah Highlands 9 Bar Espresso! and soon… World Pies.

Written by: rebecca and filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands, Restaurants, Retail Development |

Well in case you haven’t noticed, the much anticipated arrival of Nine Bar Espresso has finally come to fruition. Nine Bar opened their doors today. I stopped by for a tasty treat and was very pleased with the indulgence. Their coffee was FANTASTIC! I also personally love that they offer their sweetener in liquid form. Not only does it more evenly distribute sweetness to your favorite coffee beverage, but it cuts down on paper waste by not having individually wrapped packets of sugar. Way to look out for the environment.

The atmosphere is great too. Nice warm colors throughout the space and great tables and booths make it a cozy place to sit and enjoy a cup of joe with some friends. During the warmer months there is going to be a fantastic patio area that I am looking forward to frequenting.

World Pies, the other half to this taste sensation, will be ready to go soon. Hopefully by about the 15th of this month according to the owner Matt Snook. Matt was very gracious and gave me a personal tour of the shop. You can tell he is very proud and excited about this project.

Matt - congratulations and welcome. You and your crew are off to a great start.

They’ll be open this week from 9am to 6pm. Watch for extended hours and Grand Opening info coming soon!

Comments

19 Responses to “Welcome to Issaquah Highlands 9 Bar Espresso! and soon… World Pies.”

Carly Rogers on February 6th, 2008 10:44 am

NOT off to a great start, which place did the review go to? They definitely need to work out the kinks, none of the staff know how to work the machine yet.
After waiting over 5 minutes my first drink was given to me cold, they made the second drink incorrectly but by that time the kids were ready to go. May I add the prices are a bit high as well.
Hope they work out the kinks soon and I would return.
Brian Atkins on February 7th, 2008 3:34 pm

Stopped by this afternoon, thought the place was great! Good Latte, on par with other independent coffee houses. Prices were good with $3.10 charged for a Grande Latte. I am looking forward to the Pizza side of the house opening up, looks like a great and fun atmosphere.
neighbour on February 12th, 2008 1:30 pm

Stopped by this price last Sat. It’s too expensive — a small cup of coffee costs $2. It’s at least 60 cents or more expensive comparing to Starbucks. If they keep charging for this kind of pricing, not sure if it could last long, especially in the current economic envioronment.
rebecca on February 13th, 2008 11:38 pm

Thanks to all for leaving your input and feedback on Nine Bar. Sounds like the jury is still out as to how it will fair with an even split on the pro and con side. I remain positive that the kinks will get worked out and that it will be a wonderful addition to our neighborhood.
jeremy on February 13th, 2008 11:59 pm

I don’t think the price is an issue. Nine is WAY better than Starbucks. Just look at how successful Ladro has been and they are more expensive than Starbucks and Nine both.

And if you really want to play the numbers game, the closest Starbucks is over by Klahanie which is 1.5 miles away. A 3 mile round trip. Let’s say you have one of those uber-fuel efficient cars that will get you 30MPG. That will cost you $0.25 to drive to Starbucks and back not to mention the cost of everything else that goes into keeping your car running.

Now the real question to ask yourself should be, is having a neighborhood coffee shop that I can walk to whose quality is WAY better than Starbucks worth an extra $0.35? I think most people would have answer with a YES!
lisa on February 17th, 2008 5:38 pm

We were so excited for the opening of Cloud Nine, and even more excited now that it is opened. We have been there many times. The coffee is fantastic! The service was a bit chaotic and slow the first few days, but it seems to have gotten better. Every time we visit, we run into a neighbor. What a great place to hang out and catch up with friends. This place is truly a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
Sandy Rock on February 21st, 2008 10:21 am

Cloud Nine? Intentional…’cause you like it so much? Do they have their computer/online ordering set up? Can anyone (Becca) give me their phone number??!
Kyle on February 25th, 2008 10:17 am

Why don’t they offer wi fi? I thought this was really strange.
jeremy on February 26th, 2008 9:43 am

I was able to get the wi-fi from blakely hall on my laptop the other day. keep in mind that cafe ladro didn’t offer wi-fi right out of the gate either. on the list of things to worry about this is and should be a relatively low priority for them. all the customer service kinks should be their main focus right now…although i have never found that to be a problem.
mj on February 26th, 2008 9:43 pm

We went in for pizza last weekend - loved it! The unique flavors were a real treat and well worth it. The coffee side was great, too. Not only the flavored drinks, but just plain coffee - way better than Starbuck’s or anything I can get at home. It’s like comparing Godiva chocolate to a stale Hershey bar. 60 cents more? Who cares!?
rebecca on February 28th, 2008 5:55 pm

Kyle,

I spoke to one of the managers at World Pies today and while they do not currently have Wi-Fi, Matt is strongly considering it. I have passed along your desire but I encourage you to do the same.
rebecca on February 28th, 2008 10:48 pm

Sandy,

The following post has their phone number:

http://redbrickblog.com/2008/02/19/issaquah-highlands-restaurant-review-world-pies/

but for convenience it is 425-392-6099.

Rebecca
Rusty on February 29th, 2008 11:54 am

What are they open?
rebecca on February 29th, 2008 12:08 pm

Rusty,

They are open now from 5:00 pm until 10:00PM
John on June 27th, 2008 11:20 am

Yeeeeeeooooouch!! We were so excited to check out the new coffee shop. Way to expensive, the staff was cluelesss, no Seattle Times paper to read and what’s up with the prices? Matt’s comment in the Puget Sound Business Journal, “people don’t mind spending $4.10 for a cup of coffee”….um, errr, right. Oh well, off to Cafe Ladro!
Yuki on July 28th, 2008 4:51 pm

I really agree that the staff is clueless, and this is months after opening. My husband and I stop in occasionally, and I do love the idea of having a neighborhood non-chain coffee shop. However, they need to quit hiring ditzy sorority girls. It seems like every time we go in they manage to mess up a drink. “Ohmygod, like, I’m SO sorry…you wanted a macchiato, not a latte?” (after handing us some bitter, watery substance that couldn’t possibly have been a latte either). I try to forgive it since it’s generally the same few people -the owner and a few others definitely know what they’re doing. We really like the place, but it would be nice if they could hire REAL baristas. Then, I think the quality of their drinks would live up to the potential of the beans. The price totally isn’t an issue. I think you get what you pay for, and I wouldn’t touch Starbucks even if it was free.
rebecca on August 7th, 2008 9:49 pm

John and Yuki,

Thank you both for your comments. I do think the coffee is a bit expensive but it does taste amazing when done right.

I think all new businesses have kinks to work out when they first open, and getting those glitches worked out doesn’t happen overnight.

I am still optomistic that Nine Bar has room to be wonderful!

Thanks again for contributing.
Patrick Byers on October 1st, 2008 9:36 pm

I don’t think Ladro is more than SBUX and 9 Bar. Ladro appears be priced almost exactly the same as SBUX.
Rebecca Kuno on October 14th, 2008 3:50 pm

Patrick - thanks for sharing your opinion. I had coffee and a snack at Nine Bar a couple of weeks ago and it didn’t seem too expensive. I really enjoyed my yogert and granola parfait that they added to the menu. Way to go Matt! - keep up the good work and wonderful additions.