‘300 days of sunshine’ in Boulder, Colorado 🇺🇸

Casey Wilson manages the cafe at the Boxcar Coffee Roasters Pearl St. location in Boulder, Colorado, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. He also doubles as a food & beverage photographer for restaurants local to the area. Read Casey’s Filter to Boulder for a guide to food & beverage—and hiking—on the Front Range.

*Casey Wilson is a cafe manager at Boxcar Coffee Roasters and a food & beverage photographer. Photos courtesy of Casey Wilson*

Filter: What do you do for fun around Boulder?

Boulder has endless adventures which is exactly what makes it one of my favorite cities ever. I’m really big on the food scene and love going out for drinks or dinner with my friends any night of the week. On top of that, everyone is incredibly active, so being nestled up against the mountains (Front Range), offers so many opportunities to get outside: skiing, hiking, climbing, and even going to see beautiful views and relax. It’s known as having 300 days of sunshine, which even holds through during the winter. Some days it’s a complete blizzard and we get a foot of snow, but then the next day the sun is shining bright and it all melts.

Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

Last year the Michelin guide came to Colorado and, although only five restaurants in the whole state received a star, it inspired everyone to step up their menus and service, meaning you’ll never run out of places to visit. On top of that, I’m a professional food/beverage photographer for a few restaurants around Boulder, so my list always includes these restaurants, but that’s because I love dining at them as well. My current list could go on forever and it’s always changing, but if a friend came to town, I’d always suggest the following:

Pizzeria Alberico (Neapolitan pizza) and Frasca (Italian, one Michelin star) who are both owned by the Frasca Hospitality Group (FHG).

Corrida (Spanish restaurant with a beautiful rooftop balcony and view of the mountains), Oak (American restaurant done at such high standards), and Bellota (tacos and family-style dishes) which are all under the same owner.

Santo (New Mexican) and Blackbelly (American) are also sister restaurants that offer some of the most memorable dishes and have unbeatable hospitality. One received a green star from Michelin and the other was recognized in the guide.

Stella’s Cucina is one of the newest restaurants in Boulder. After finding the minimal door, you walk down a vast hallway that opens up into a beautiful space with incredible lighting and an unforgettable experience.

On top of all these incredible restaurants, I always bring my friends to Dedalus (a cheese and wine shop) that’s located in the same building as Boxcar (the cafe I’ve been with for years) because it has an incredible selection. A couple of stores down is Fiori Flowers, which carries the most beautiful arrangements I’ve ever seen and I always come here to get gifts for friends/family.

Finally, I’d end the night at Jungle, a tiki bar that has absolutely delicious drinks and one of the friendliest and closest teams in all of Boulder.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

While Boulder has so much to offer, I will say that I love traveling so much and take any opportunity I can to get out and experience new places. Denver is one of those places because it’s incredibly close and offers everything you can find in a big city, like New York or LA, while not being too large. My friends and I always go out to the city on the weekends to see music, meet up with friends, and enjoy all that it has to offer. On the other end, when I need to relax and get away, I always go up to the mountains. It only takes 10 minutes to get into a quiet and secluded place, and with a little more driving, you can easily find beautiful places to camp and spend the night. During the summer, my friends and I go to the creek to cool down (the water is unbelievably cold because it’s snow melt) or we hammock in a forest.

Filter: What touristy things in Boulder are worth the hype?

There’s a large university here which brings so many students and their families every year, which means Boulder is quite a tourist-filled city at the end of summer and during holidays. I love it because there’s always new people to meet and show around.

One of the most common places that tourists visit is Pearl Street Mall, which is a walking mall in the heart of downtown. Boxcar Coffee Roasters, where I work, is located on this mall and I always love getting to make everyone’s vacation more enjoyable by having a wonderful experience at our cafe.

Very close by is Dushanbe Tea House, which is known as being a tourist destination. They serve food as well, so it’s a great place to go and sit down for lunch or a quiet bite and cup of tea. Not to mention, they have a pleasant outdoor seating area as well as an incredibly intricate and detailed interior with a painted roof that you can look at for hours.

Finally, Chautauqua might be the biggest tourist attraction because it offers the most perfect view of the mountains. You can either hang out in the field across the street and look at the views or, for those seeking activity, there’s a number of hikes at every different ability level. You can even hike/climb each of the mountains and they get more and more difficult depending on which of the three peaks you attempt to summit.

Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners there?

Once again, this city is known for its close proximity to the mountains, so you can drive anywhere from 5 minutes to hours and you’ll be in some of the most beautiful locations you’ve ever seen. In the city, there’s Wonderland Park and Foothills Park which have a lake, dog-friendly area, and tons of hiking trails. In addition, there’s tons of classes to learn paragliding and the mountains provide ample conditions here, so I love sitting in the field and watching five to 10 people fly above.

If you want to venture further up, but remain close to Boulder, the drive up Flagstaff Mountain is incredible. A small way up, you can pull over at any designated point and overlook the whole city, which is even better at night with all of the lights glowing. Going further will lead you to the top of the mountain which allows you to see the entire Front Range on the other side. The views seem like a movie at certain times of the day and it’s one of the most photographic areas in all of Boulder.

Lastly, although it’s outside of Boulder, you can drive all the way up to Nederland which is the cutest little mountain town that has tons of local stores and a huge lake that’s just outside of a famous ski area (Eldora).

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?

The coffee scene has exploded over the last few years, offering dozens of places to get a delicious drinkI always start my day with coffee at Boxcar Coffee Roasters, which is a shameless plug because I’ve been working here for almost 6 years, however I do think it’s the best coffee and experience in Boulder.

However, I go to any number of other cafes on my days off such as: Verb Coffee (one of the newest shops that offers some amazing and unique coffees), Beleza Coffee (a neighborhood cafe that offers food items as well), Alpine Modern (who have a beautiful space and also solid breakfast options), January Coffee (another newish cafe that has been such a core of the coffee industry and has one of the best staffs out there), Dry Storage (my usual spot because they’re also owned by one of my favorite hospitality groups which boasts multiple amazing restaurants, two of which also received Michelin stars), and lastly, Süti and Co (a small shop with wonderful home goods that’s located across the street from my house).

Filter: What makes Boulder feel like home to you?

The community is like nothing else and, while some people don’t always like this, it’s refreshing to be able to walk down any street and know somebody. While it doesn’t always happen, the city is still small enough that it’s so common to run into somebody you know which sparks up a conversation and always brightens my day.

Filter: How did you end up in the Boulder coffee scene?

Boulder has always been my true home. I grew up in Erie, Colorado, which is located about 15 minutes outside of the city, but I’ve been coming here since I was young because there’s so much to do. Ever since then, I’ve made all of my closest friends and knew that I wanted to move out here the moment I could. So about 10 years ago I made the move and never looked back.

Boxcar happened because I always studied out of cafes during college and, while sitting at the bar doing homework, I realized that my true passion was making coffee and connecting with the community. Right when I graduated, I took up the opportunity to be part of Boxcar and my career has blossomed ever since.

Filter: Can you share about your role at Boxcar?

I’ve been working at Boxcar Coffee Roasters for almost 6 years now and started here because they were doing so much incredible work. From the coffees Boxcar sources to the amount of knowledge and information I received, I got inspired to work here after seeing so much success from baristas competing in coffee champs. I always knew I wanted to compete and felt as though I was able to learn so much from everyone here, including one barista who got sixth place in USBC a few years back (Em Orendorff).

Then, about two years ago, I was given the opportunity to manage the cafe and haven’t looked back since. The team is amazing and being able to learn new skills by becoming manager was the greatest challenge I could have received. It has been nothing short of rewarding to train new baristas and pass along all of the knowledge I’ve gained from the people I’ve worked with and learned from.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

Hands down, I would move to Denmark. While I could go on and on about all of the places I’d move to for coffee, I’ve always wanted to live in Copenhagen for a mix of reasons, with coffee being one of the biggest. The city has so much to offer in terms of restaurants, cafes, bars, fashion, the ocean, the culture, the people, etc.

There are two shops that standout for good reasons. The first is La Cabra (which also makes me want to move to New York, as they also have a couple La Cabra locations that are my absolute favorite) because of its ambiance, unforgettable pastries, beautiful ceramics, and all around great vibe.

The second cafe is Coffee Collective which has multiple locations all across Denmark. Once again, the baristas at all of their locations were so kind and also helped me to understand and explore the various cities by giving in the best recommendations. Their coffee is phenomenal and they also offer pastries and small breakfast options that make each day there amazing.

Unfortunately, there is one spot that closed but would also be on the list, which is The Corner at 108. It was a cafe attached to a well known restaurant, Restaurant 108 (which has also permanently closed), that serves pastries on the same level as fine dining, while offering Tim Wendelboe coffee.

Filter: Anything you’d like to add?

I’m honored to be able to give my favorite recommendations for Boulder and hope anyone who visits has an unforgettable time. It’s a beautiful city and I love using Filter as my guide to explore other places.

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Boxcar Coffee Roasters operates 2 cafes and 1 roastery (visitable by appointment) in Boulder, Colorado, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

Boxcar - Roastery

Boxcar - Pearl Cafe and Bakery

Boxcar - Mesa Cafe

Food & Beverage

Pizzeria Alberico (Neapolitan pizza)

Frasca (Italian, one Michelin star)

Corrida (Spanish restaurant with a beautiful rooftop balcony and view of the mountains)

Oak (American)

Bellota (tacos, family-style dishes)

Santo (New Mexican)