Neighbors Barista owners Spencer Trach and Lulu Parajuli are hoping to move ahead with plans to expand their small batch coffee business this summer into the Woodley Gardens shopping center as soon as they receive the blessing of the City of Rockville.
“We haven’t even opened our doors and this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,” said Trach, who lives with Parajuli, his wife, in Damascus.
Trach told Bethesda Today on Monday that the pair, who both grew up in Montgomery County, began the coffee business in 2023, roasting beans at their home and selling coffee Saturdays at the Main Street Farmers Market in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood and occasional pop-ups. Trach said they hope the 1,200-square-foot space at 1101 Nelson St. will become a community gathering space as well as a café and roastery.
Woodley Gardens is home to several eateries and businesses including the Hard Times Café, Z&Z Manoushe Bakery, Shanghai Taste and Carmen’s Italian Ice.
Trach noted that since announcing expansion plans, the business has received more than 500 responses to an online survey asking what the community is looking for in a coffee shop. The survey was shared on social media and with a QR code on the storefront’s windows.
According to Trach, respondents would like the shop to host community-centered events such as a run club and book club as well as coffee tastings, roasting demonstrations and other educational experiences.
The couple hopes to hear from the City of Rockville this week regarding a minor site plan amendment for the space, which was the former home of an Essex Bank branch, Trach said. The amendment would change the permitted use of the space from a bank to a coffee shop.
Due to its former use as a bank, the space also includes a covered drive-thru teller window. However, Neighbors Barista plans to use the feature as a walk-up window.
John Foreman, a development services manager for the City of Rockville, told Bethesda Today in an email Tuesday that the couple’s site amendment application is under review and the city’s planning department would send comments to the business this week. He noted the city’s chief of zoning approves minor site plan amendments after applicants meet requirements and address staff comments.
If all goes to plan, Trach is hoping to open sometime in the summer.
“With respect to the site amendment and permitting, the concern thus far is, ‘Can we operate?’ And No. 2, what work needs to be done inside the space so that we can operate at the capacity that we think we’ll need,” he said.
Despite uncertainty about approval of the site plan amendment, Trach is optimistic and said he plans to continue operations at the Kentlands farmers market once the shop opens.
“It’s a real privilege to serve the community and for people to even drink our coffee. It means the world because we understand there’s hundreds, if not thousands, of options of different coffee or tea beverages,” Trach said.
‘Seed to cup’
Neighbors Barista is based on a “seed to cup” model, Trach said, referring to the process in which the business acquires its coffee beans directly from the producers and farmers in Central America and elsewhere and eventually brews the beans at the market or pop-ups for customers.
Trach said he and Parajuli visited producers in Guatemala and El Salvador to learn more about the process, establish relationships and eventually purchase their beans. Neighbors Barista also sources from producers in Colombia, Brazil and Nicaragua.
“It’s direct from the farm and when the coffee comes to us, it’s green. You can’t eat it or drink it. It’s essentially a seed. And then we roast it, and it becomes something that we can all enjoy,” Trach said.
According to Trach, after the couple roasts the coffee beans at their Damascus home, they bring it to the farmers market for brewing, serving and sipping.
At the market, Neighbors Barista offers specialty drinks including a smores lattes with marshmallows, pistachio lattes and an orange blossom latte. According to Trach, all the syrups, foams, flavorings and toppings are sll made by the duo from scratch.
