The worker cooperative behind Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse is opening a coffee shop and roastery in Greenmount West's newest communal work space.
Red Emma's will open the Greenmount Coffee Lab in November at Open Works, the new makerspace located at 1400 Greenmount Ave. The coffee shop will be worker-owned and cooperatively managed like Red Emma's.
Open Works was developed by Baltimore Arts Realty Corp. as an incubator for startups, artisans and small-scale manufacturers. The $11 million project transformed a 34,000-square-foot former warehouse into a communal work space that includes small studios; wood, metal, textile and 3-D printing shops; laser machines and computer classrooms, in addition to the cafe.
The incubator offers memberships and month-to-month space rentals, and will also host workshops and classes.
Greenmount Coffee Lab will offer some of the same drinks as Red Emma's North Avenue location, as well as new brewing methods. The food menu will be smaller, focused on pastries, salads and snacks.
In addition to the retail area, Open Works will provide new space for Red Emma's coffee roasting buisness, Thread Coffee.