What baristas eat, drink, and read when no one is watching
Between pulling espresso shots, recommending books, and plating donuts, baristas don’t have much downtime—so when they do, what’s actually on the menu?
Nestled in Old Town Lafayette, The Read Queen Bookstore & Café (for those wondering, the pronunciation, according to their website: “I love to read, the Queen she said, and in so doing I am well read.”) is a women-owned community staple. In a time when third spaces continue to disappear across Colorado’s Front Range, Read Queen holds onto a version of that role—part café, part bookstore, part gathering place—with a steady flow of customers and just enough seating to make it linger-worthy.
At the center is barista Taya Kendrick, often nursing an iced vanilla or brown sugar maple latte during her shift, while snacking on food from home. Despite packing leftover pizza or peanut butter power bars, she admits it’s not always enough to stay away from what’s available in-house.
Sonnie Simmons, who has worked at Read Queen for just over a year, has settled into a different kind of shift fuel: Goldfish crackers. Soup and burritos are available, but she’s unapologetically BYOGF…