Grab a Chai & Pull Up a Chair
A caffeine-infused conversation with Hunter Horsfall about coffee
house culture and his new alternative bar in Fort Collins, Colorado
Chai latte served with extra love,
The Alley Cat Cafe, Fort Collins, CO
HUNTER HORSFALL:
Age: 31
Home: Fort Collins, CO
Education: BS, Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Astro-sign: Pisces
Interests: cycling, surfing meditation, sailing, traveling, building stuff
About My Guest:
“I can’t recall my first interaction with Hunter, but it must have been 8-10 years ago when he was a rising-star barista and I was an established late-night fixture at The Alley Cat Café in Fort Collins, CO. Hunter was eventually promoted to manager, and that came as no surprise to me because he’s super smart, great with people, and he’s magnetic and charismatic in an unassuming way. He’s also an inventive and playful artist who’s drawn to organic materials like wood and concrete/stone. Hunter is politically-minded, philosophical, considerate, self-aware, and fun. How on Earth is all of that rolled into one person? I’m not sure, and I suppose we could ask his mother, but for now, let’s move on to the interview and you can judge for yourself. Enjoy!” ++RALPH
Part 1:
Upstairs at The Alley Cat
Blending Coffee, Creativity, and Community since 2003
RALPH: Okay Hunter, before we dive into your work, I wonder if you might say a little something about yourself, just to give readers an idea of who you are.
HUNTER: Sure Ralph—my name is Hunter, and I am lucky enough to have played a role in shaping The Alley Cat Coffee House and in building and opening The Atrium Bar and Lounge along with my business partner, Connor Williams. I really enjoy the outdoors and particularly anything on the ocean—sailing and surfing especially. Since there’s no ocean in Colorado, I keep myself busy with cycling, meditation, and lots of building projects in my free time. Woodworking is something I’m passionate about and enjoy on a deep level—there’s nothing quite like seeing something take form from your mind’s eye. When I have enough free time, I really enjoy traveling to other countries with my partner and fiancé, Drenna. I try to be kind to everyone I meet and make lots of friends—I love people, and I think from a young age I learned from my Mother and Grandmother to feel deeply for others.
RALPH: Thanks, that’s great. So let’s talk about The Alley Cat first, which is the coffee house that you’ve been managing for several years now. As you know, I’m a serious coffee drinker who’s done a fair amount of traveling, and The Alley Cat is still my favorite coffee joint anywhere. I know why that is, but I’d like to get your take on it. How would you describe The Alley Cat? What makes it special?
HUNTER: The Alley Cat has always felt like a common-ground place to me. I think it appeals to different people for different reasons, and because of that, it acts like a funnel bringing different sides of the city together. We’re adjacent to the CSU campus, so we get a lot of students coming in, but overall, we get a pretty eclectic mix. Many of our customers know each other from here and are friends-in-passing, and I think that familiarity helps to make Fort Collins feel a little smaller.
If you come to the Alley Cat, there are certain people you can almost always count on seeing, like Barb, Magic John, or Happy Chris. Our regulars bring some great character and energy to the place, and that helps to create this feeling of a neighborhood watering hole. There are other good coffee houses in town, of course. I really like Harbinger’s and The Bean Cycle has a great vibe, too, but I can’t say I frequent other places that much. I’m a social person, and for me, it’s always been pretty easy to make friends and strike up conversations at The Alley Cat. There’s also a higher likelihood of meeting people there that you otherwise wouldn’t come into contact with. That’s one thing I truly love about it—it’s a place where people feel free to share their unique perspectives, and they often do it with complete strangers. The bar at the Alley Cat has always been a prime spot for that. Just hang out at the bar one afternoon or evening, and you’re bound find yourself in some really great conversations…or some that aren’t so great, you just never know!
Located at 120 1/2 W. Laurel St., Fort Collins
OPEN DAILY, 7am–midnight
For years, The Alley Cat was open 24-7, so a lot of artists and creative types would come in and work on projects late into the night. It was a golden era for the Alley Cat crowd. But toward the end of that era, it became apparent to me that there was a large and underserved homeless population in Fort Collins that just needed a place to stay. Back then, the rule was that as long as you could keep your head up in a booth, you were okay to stay. But if you couldn’t do that or if you started behaving strangely and making everyone uncomfortable, then it was time to go. Sadly, toward the end of that golden age of never closing, those wild cards were getting a little too frequent. Plus it wasn’t fair to the overnight baristas, who often had to wear the hat of a security guard and a social worker.
It gets cold here in winter, and I know we kept a lot of folks alive in the winter months for years. It almost makes me regret closing at night because everyone needs a place where they can warm up, have a coffee, and think to themselves, “I’m not a homeless person—I’m just a person having coffee.” The Alley Cat was a nice buffer zone for that. We acted as an olive branch from the larger community, providing a space where the houseless community could feel semi-normal.
“We didn’t even have locks on most of doors for a long time because we never closed. So walking away from it for the first time with the lights off and the space locked up was not a great feeling for me.”
RALPH: I can imagine. So why do you think the Alley Cat has worked in Fort Collins for so many years?
HUNTER: Well for one thing, I think there’s always something new and interesting to look at within the space itself. That’s true even for me—I’m still finding hand-painted ceiling tiles that I don’t think I’ve ever really looked at. It’s that element of transformation and surprise that I think keeps the space alive and feeling fresh. We’ve also had a lot of fantastic baristas over the years, and that helps, too. But generally speaking, I think it’s the fact that it’s a welcoming space, and there’s a lower threshold for making friends.
The floor plan has changed over the years, but it’s always been fairly open. Shortly after I started managing, one of my first construction projects involved taking down the small stage in the big study room and changing that up. So I started making new tables out of formed concrete, and then we found these funky booths from an old place in Manitou Springs that was closing and we added those. We’ve always tried to do most of our renovation work in the middle of the night, partly to avoid interrupting things during the day, but also for the surprise-factor the next day.
Open floor plan with colorful ceiling tiles
RALPH: Right, I remember when those renovations were going on. It was a good change, and it was very well done. There’s always been an artistic element at the Alley Cat, with original art on the walls and even on the ceiling. So what’s the art scene like these days?
HUNTER: The Alley Cat has always been a welcoming place for local artists. We don’t take a commission on artwork sales—we just provide a space where artists can show their work and where original pieces can be made available to the public. You know, when I first started working as a barista, I’d try to buy a piece of artwork every time a cool new show would go up. So at this point, I have a pretty extensive collection of art from Alley Cat shows. People enjoy buying original local art, and it’s also a good way for artists to establish themselves.
RALPH: You’re a people-person in a people-oriented business. What would you say is the main thing you’ve learned about people by working in this industry?
HUNTER: Oh man. Well, I’d say it’s the fact that every single person on Earth can improve their communication skills. Text communication is the worst form, in my opinion. I can’t tell you how many text messages I’ve misconstrued as negative because of my own state of mind or because I was overthinking it. Communication is definitely a key factor when it comes to managing people, and it’s something we all need to work on in our daily lives. I’ve also learned that when you give creative license to someone who really wants to do something, it invariably works out better than if you hand them a box of constraints. So let’s say someone comes to me with an idea about a new menu item or a special event—I might go, “Oh, you’re excited about this? Great! How do you want to do it?” Then I’ll step back and watch them run with it.
When I think about it, practically every fun event at The Alley Cat has had some sort of cheerleader behind it who was more excited about the idea from the start than anyone else. So when you see that kind of enthusiasm in someone, you want to put as much power in that person’s hands as possible. Creative license is a powerful thing, and as a manager, it’s important to empower people and give them opportunities to grow. I’ve also found that if you explain the big picture to people so that they can share in that vision, you’re much more likely to get there.
The Alley Cat can get extremely busy at times, and that can be stressful for a barista who’s just trying to keep up. As a manager, you occasionally have to bring the hammer down, but I try not to do that too often or too harshly. Punishment is a bad teacher, in my opinion, and the carrot is almost always better than the stick. As we all know, work is best when it’s fun, and that’s especially true in an environment like this one. Obviously, this is not a career path for most people—it’s a coffee shop job. But it’s a great intermediary place for people to make some friends, have some fun, and maybe figure out what their next step in life is.
RALPH: Right, well said. So to close out this segment, I’d love to get your take on the future of café culture in general? Where do you see it going?
HUNTER: I think in some ways we will have to see, but I am happy to describe my greatest hopes and intentions for the space. I hope that people continue to spend time disconnecting for face-to-face conversations, to share a moment together and just absorb the scenery. I hope the Alley Cat continues to be a space where people can slow down and appreciate the people around them. I hope our patrons grab hold of the opportunity to engage in a conversation with a stranger, and inhabit a new perspective over a cup of coffee. I hope that people see the bigger picture—that strangers don’t have to be strange, they can just be friends you haven’t met yet in many cases. I hope as the drive towards busy-ness and absorption in technology continues, places like the Alley Cat will continue to push back. People need the opportunity to connect and be present with one another. In the wise words of the ancient teacher, Huang Po: “Here it is—right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it.”
