Wheelhouse Coffee — DTLA
The Wheelhouse rests at the intersection of coffee shop, beautiful relaxation space, and boutique bike fashion.
It’s a gorgeous, inviting space, blessed with high ceilings and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Equally appropriate for creative work, reading, or socializing, this is the type of coffee shop where there is no reason to ask for a to-go cup.
The Vibe
My first visit there I was struck by the contrasting warm leather and wood hues against the cold blue backdrop that is the rear wall. If there is one color that dominates this space it would be “tan leather”.
On weekdays, it’s quiet from 7–9am. The coffee shop gets busy around lunchtime, followed by another small rush from 4–5pm, which consists of folks stopping by after work, or climbers getting amped up before heading over to LA Boulders next door.
Weekends are calm until approximately 10:30am. If you get there early enough, your only company may be the occasional sparrow, chirping away, hoping for pastry crumbs on the floor.
You are likely to witness a couple of cycling groups (such as the fun-loving FUBAR crew) come and go. At times, they’ll ask the Wheelhouse bike mechanic for assistance. They can help with minor mechanical issues to get cyclists back on the road in no time.
The wall near the mechanic’s desk lists the “menu” items: Flat fix, Flat fix & coffee, Accessory installs.
The shooting range adjacent to the Wheelhouse opens at 11am on Saturdays and Sundays. By noon, you may feel the walls shudder with the vibration of muffled gun shots. Ahh, the smell of coffee and gunpowder merging in one’s nostrils in the morning…
All of the clothing racks, tables, and shelves are on casters, so the Wheelhouse can quickly turn into a venue large enough to house events like the recent album release party planned in collaboration with Giant Robot.
Their Events calendar reveals other upcoming gatherings like semi-regular coffee tastings followed by a casual bike ride. I also heard rumors of a craft-your-own-beer Oktoberfest event.
The Gear
Fashionable-yet-practical bike accessories would be an accurate way of describing the gear they have up for sale. Brooks leather bags and saddles, Swift Industries touring bags (Seattle), Nitto quill stems, sleek Thousand helmets, bicycle bells, and all kinds of leather goods, from saddles to cup cozies.
The Food
Wheelhouse carries Superba bakes goods, and offers overnight oats, avocado toast, banana almond butter throughout the day. After 11am, you’ll also have four sandwiches to choose from, which are served on levain sourdough bread.
As he answered my barrage of questions, Dalton was busy authoring his custom Pocky. Which, in retrospect, I should have sampled while I had the chance.
The Coffee
The Wheelhouse uses Olympia Big Truck blend (Colombian / Ethiopian) coffee for their espresso, which results in chocolatey and light floral flavor notes.
The Big Truck blend is up for sale in 12 oz bags, along with the Little Buddy blend.
There are no drip or pour-over options, but you can get an Aero-pressed cup of coffee instead. You’ll have the option of a decaf or single origin coffee. The single origin coffee rotates every week — when I dropped in, it was Guatemalan.
The Aero press is quite possibly the best coffee making tool to take camping, and is available in-store as well as on their website.
Daniel gave me a run-down of the milk options offered to customers as he prepared my latte: Strauss Barista blend (gnom), or Califia Barista Blend Almond milk. There is a soy option as well.
Currently, their seasonal beverage is an Espresso paired with a boozy, kahlua-like syrup, made from Tea extract that has pumpkin and brandy notes (due to the brandied prunes).
As always, we must end with the most important shot of all.
We’re on Instagram → @findsomecoffee
