Gathered Grounds is preparing to open its first permanent brick-and-mortar coffee shop at Central Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix, marking a significant new chapter for the Phoenix-based coffee company after more than five years of operating primarily from a mobile coffee trailer.
The company’s planned Uptown Phoenix location is expected to open in the upcoming months. The announcement follows national recognition for Gathered Grounds. The company was ranked No. 52 on Yelp’s 2025 Top 100 Coffee Shops list, which evaluated businesses in Yelp’s Coffee & Tea category using factors that included review volume and ratings. Arizona outlet ABC15 independently reported Gathered Grounds at No. 52 on the national list, identifying its existing location in Surprise.
For Gathered Grounds founder Jared Olesen, the recognition adds context to a transition that has developed over several years. The company launched in 2019 and built its business through events and farmers markets before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted that operating model. Olesen says the company subsequently moved its trailer into a busy parking lot as a temporary solution. That arrangement ultimately became its operating home for approximately five and a half years…