Co-Working Coffee Space Invigorates Downtown Chico

Stoble is part cafe, part coffeehouse, and part shared workspace. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Little by little, Stoble Coffee and Workplace is evolving into the full-fledged coffeehouse, café, and workspace the owners envisioned.

While a Stoble coffee cart has been serving up hot liquid creations since June 2019, it was in March that the doors opened to the brick and mortar location.

That cart has found a home inside, with a sign explaining its significance.

Coffee continues to be an important part of the whole business concept, with the roaster located in a prominent spot near the front door. Details about the beans are on Stoble’s website. Those beans can be bought there or ordered through a subscription.

Breakfast and lunch are available now; pastries, soups, salads and sandwiches are the main items.

The building is an impressive transformation in downtown Chico. It has two main floors, a basement and rooftop. The latter is where views of the city and plaza are most prominent.

The site was last home to Mary’s Gone Crackers, which moved to Reno.

Coffee beans are roasted on site. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The openness is inviting for those wanting to eat, drink and/or work. Those requiring a more private work environment away from the café have a variety of options. Just this month hourly co-working spaces opened. Conference rooms allow people to teleconference, they come with whiteboards, and seat up to 14 people. More options are coming this summer.

The website says, “What began as an idea to create a single story cafe with a few offices for rent has grown into a much larger endeavor. We now find ourselves with a light filled atrium surrounded by 17 offices, two conference rooms and tables galore. Our freshly renovated sublevel adds an additional space for a large classroom space, printer/coper facilities, phone booths, breakroom lounge and more.”

This creation was the brainchild of Matt and Lauren Theide with business partners Matt and Natalie Johnston.

“It’s turned from a $1 million project into a $5 million project,” Matt Theide told the Chico Enterprise-Record. This was because of easements and the original building’s structure, which had brick walls dating to the 1800s.

Stoble owners had hoped the business would be open every day from 7am-10pm. For now, the café is open five days a week for seven hours each day. Expect this to change.