Photo by Taylor Noel
Diane Quinn
The smell of fresh roasting coffee was an unusual but welcome fragrance coming from a garage on East Skywalker Way in 2012. It signified the launching of a dream for Anna Perreira, daughter of Diane and Jon Quinn who owned the home in Unit 15. Anna had left her job in New York City to start Yellow Brick Coffee and had chosen Tucson, where she spent her younger years, as the home of her new business. Residents of Quail Creek came to know Anna well as she joined the food and beverage staff and worked at the Grill while perfecting Yellow Brick’s roasts and searching for the first location of its official coffee shop. By 2014, when joined by Anna’s brother and co-owner, David Perreira, Yellow Brick Coffee opened its first location on Dodge Boulevard in Tucson.
Eleven years after that first roast was created in a Quail Creek garage, Yellow Brick Coffee (YBC) has opened its flagship location in Tucson as Yellow Brick Coffee—The Benedictine. The new, ultra-modern location is housed in the redevelopment area of the former Benedictine Monastery at 800 N. Country Club Road. “This space allows us to share our craft with the local community in a fresh, new way. Each artisan roast has always been purposeful,” said Anna. “We have now extended that to our menu. Beyond that, our staff continues to make YBC truly special. Each one of them is committed to providing an extraordinary customer experience.”
Aside from outstanding coffee, the spot boasts a different beverage experience for Tucson coffee lovers, a Modbar. “The Modbar is essentially an under-counter espresso machine that creates very limited obstruction of view. There’s basically no obstruction between you and the barista, and therefore, you’re involved in the experience if you want to be,” said David. “You can watch them pull the shot. You can watch them create their latte art.”
In addition to coffee there is a new food experience created by Yellow Brick using locally sourced ingredients. Food offerings include sandwiches, salads, and pastries. David added, “There’s so much local and a lot of that was inspired by the support that we’ve had from a lot of our local community. Our growth has been based on local support, so this is a great way to keep that in the community as well.”
Yellow Brick Coffee—The Benedictine at 800 N. Country Club Road is open seven days a week, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit yellowbrickcoffee.com.