Hugo Coffee
1794 Olympic Pkwy, Park City, UT Get Directions
Contact: 435-901-4450
HUGO.COFFEE IG @thehugocoffee
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Date Visited: November 1, 2019
Drink Coffee, Save Dogs
I had just left Salt Lake City, Utah, and began my journey back East. I’m sure you can relate to that feeling that comes the second you begin a road trip… must have coffee! I saw signs coming up for Park City, Utah and I knew there had to be a coffee shop somewhere. I pulled off of Rt. 80, looked on Google, and discovered Hugo Coffee was right down the street. To my surprise, it was located directly inside of the visitor center for Park City.
The second I saw the logo was a dog I was even more excited to interview them. I headed inside and was immediately intrigued, there were pictures of dogs everywhere, comfy couches, and warmth from the winter weather. I headed up to the counter and introduced myself to Elise, the barista at the time. She was fairly new but very friendly and helped answer all of my questions.
Hugo Coffee started in 2015 by Claudia McMullin and her doggie Hugo is the mascot. Claudia created this coffee shop with a mission to “save dogs by roasting and selling fair-trade coffee.” Now, this is something I can support and get behind. For every bag of coffee sold, 10% of the profit goes to various animal rescues. Such as Best Friends Animal Society Utah, Nuzzle’s and Co., and Paws for Life. Fun fact, Claudia adopted Hugo from Nuzzles and Co. and he has been a huge inspiration to this coffee shop journey ever since. I hope to someday meet both Claudia and Hugo.
The beans are roasted by John Lynn, together John and Claudia have produced a wide assortment of delicious roasts. He is also a huge dog lover as well and rescued an amazing dog named Rivers. After teaching Rivers “New Tricks” it nicely became the name on the light-roast blend, you must try it. If you are interested, you can buy bags of their coffee online and have them shipped anywhere in the US. Remember 10% of your purchase will be going to help the rescues. If you have bought a bag of coffee you have contributed to 4,102 meals, 2,790 vaccines, 174 spay/neuters, and 996 dog beds. Amazing job!
The Coffee
I had to see how good this coffee truly was, I ordered a large americano for a change. Dang, this was just what I needed before making my way to Wyoming. Not only did the coffee give me energy, but it was full of flavor and warmed me right up! I was very happy considering how cold it was outside and there was even snow on the ground. This is the spot for locals and travelers to hang out, they offer one dollar refills.
The Food
There are a handful of locally-made tasty treats to order such as blueberry muffins, doughnuts, cookies, and a slice of the lemon lavender loaf. If you’re looking to warm up they offer quiche and a delicious selection of paninis. The one calling my name was the Vivi Caprese that was made of basil pesto, roasted peppers, mozzarella, arugula herb vinaigrette, and lemon aioli on ciabatta bread.
Walk Around
While you’re enjoying your coffee, you can check out the Visitor Center. There are tons of pamphlets of things to do in and around the area. The coolest thing I stumbled upon is the historic Gondola from the Park City Museum. This was a town that is known for epic ski conditions and they even hosted the Olympics in 2002. Make your way back towards Hugo’s and sit on one of the many comfortable couches. You can also find some dog treats, t-shirts, hats, and bags of coffee. A great souvenir would be a custom Hugo mug handmade by Jessica at Mean Mugs Pottery in Salt Lake City, UT. I had a great time at this coffee shop and I’m glad I stopped in, make sure you add them to your coffee shop bucket list, you will not be disappointed.
Bathroom
Considering how many people stop must come to the visitor’s center, the bathrooms were clean. They were fully stocked but lacked character. Maybe Hugo’s can work on hanging some awesome dog-art in there. I am going to rank these a 7.5/10.