Photo Credit: Hillary Brown

Back in May, we reported on local coffee roaster 1000 Faces' plans to renovate and move into the building at 510 N. Thomas St. downtown that used to house Good Dirt. Work has moved along fairly quickly, and although 1000 Faces didn't meet its original goal of being open by September, the space is looking good, and it'll begin serving coffee next Monday, Nov. 13, with a soft-open week.

Monday–Friday, it'll only serve from 8 a.m.–1 p.m., slowly getting up to speed. It won't be open Saturday, in preparation for a grand opening from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, with DJ Osmose and Farm Cart on hand to add food and biscuits. Thereafter, hours will expand.

The Barber Street location, which has done its last day of business, brewed coffee as well as selling it retail and wholesale and providing educational events focused on it, but it didn't quite feel like a coffee shop. The Thomas Street location does. There's lovely custom woodwork, The Comerian will be making food (sweet and savory breakfast thingies, possibly some German stuff, toasts), and you can watch the coffee roasting in a big, shiny new machine through large windows.

Does this mean downtown will smell like coffee roasting all the time? Nope. There's a system in place that burns off anything stinky before it gets vented. CrossFit Liberate is operational next door, with folks climbing ropes visible through the open garage door when the weather is nice. Community seating encourages interaction, and there are all kinds of rooms in the back of the space dedicated to packaging, experimentation, cold brew and the like, which you should be able to tour during the grand opening.

Lindsey's Culinary Market still plans to move into the space underneath, but isn't there yet. Parking is likewise a work in progress (there's some, but there will be more), but a lot of traffic will probably come from pedestrians.