Glas Coffeehouse Celebrates 10 Years of Being Green

Glas Coffeehouse celebrates Irish heritage year round. Photo by Aleah Kidd.

The green decorations of St. Patrick’s Day have passed their peak, but Sturgeon Bay’s Glas Coffeehouse is green all year long. Glas – the Gaelic word for “green” – has focused on being a sustainable and eco-friendly business since its opening day in 2009. This month the coffeehouse is celebrating its 10 years of operations and Irish heritage with a featured birthday-cake frappé and a special-edition coffee roast.

Opened as a venture of the communications company Cellcom, Glas shares a building with the Cellcom retail store, giving patrons access to high-speed Wi-Fi and an upstairs conference room that’s available for meetings and community gatherings. The building was constructed with recycling and energy-efficient practices in mind, including water-saving systems and landscaping to reduce the impact of water runoff from the parking lot.

On a sunny afternoon, I dropped in to get lunch and a bit of a caffeine boost. I first noticed the abundance of natural light and the colorful contemporary art adorning the walls. The refurbished furniture adds a quaint, eclectic appeal and provides a variety of seating options, from corner nooks to tables for group seating.

Open seven days a week, Glas offers a full range of coffee and espresso drinks, a breakfast and lunch menu, teas and specialty blended drinks. You’ll also find a bakery case displaying the quiche of the day, scones, muffins and other freshly baked items. Looking for something fresh and not too filling, I took the barista’s recommendation: a hummus wrap with kettle chips and the Spring Fling latte: a seasonal espresso drink with raspberry and vanilla flavors.

The hummus wrap was indeed fresh and crunchy, with spinach, red peppers, tomatoes and avocado. The creamy garbanzo-bean spread was a good match for the fresh vegetables, and the salty kettle chips provided a delicious balance. The latte was a blend of berry flavor and sweet vanilla, and the small size was the perfect midday indulgence.If you make coffee at home, try the special 10-Year Anniversary Roast: a Kenya AA from the Mugaya Coffee Factory that Glas’ Facebook page describes as a medium roast with “flavor notes of caramel, citrus and sweet, with intense fruit brightness.” It’s also brewed fresh at the Sturgeon Bay location and at the Shawano and Sheboygan Glas locations, which have opened more recently.