WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A drive-thru coffee shop in Wheat Ridge said construction along Wadsworth Boulevard is preventing customers from stopping by.
Like most moms, Cassie Grutz’s day starts before the sun comes up. Every morning, she loads up her two kids, Carson and Ceecee, and heads to two different schools.
But after the drop-offs, she doesn’t get to sit down and have a cup of coffee. She drives nearly an hour in traffic to make coffee for her customers.
Grutz owns the Sugar Cube Coffee Shop at 44th and Wadsworth in Wheatridge. Originally a dental hygienist, she bought the shack during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No one wanted to see me during that time, that’s for sure,” she said.
That’s when she decided to work at something where people wanted to see her, and who would smile because they felt it.
The coffee shop started out decades ago as a Fotomat, then the check-in hut for a putt-putt course. Grutz has employees, but they usually take separate shifts since the shop is only a few feet wide.
Grutz knows Wadsworth is filled to the brim with coffee shops, but if people stop, they’ll come back. She roasts her own beans, and she feels her coffee is the best.
It’s been difficult for customers to stop, however, after years of construction along Wadsworth.
“If they miss our entrance, which they’ve changed since construction started, they immediately see Dutch Brothers coffee, and then there’s no reason for them to turn around," Grutz said.
In an update, the City of Wheat Ridge said the Wadsworth Improvement Project, which began in November 2021, remains on schedule and should be completed in spring 2026.
It can be overwhelming owning a business, roasting your own beans, and serving customers, but Grutz feels joy from it all. It’s just that she has to close at 11:30 a.m. because she’s a mom, and she has Carson and CeeCee to pick up from school.
