Here's what's taking over the old Everyday Joe's Coffee House in Old Town Fort Collins

The front of its building may still say Everyday Joe's, but something new is brewing at 144 S. Mason St.

As the blinds were pulled back in the sprawling former coffee shop Friday afternoon, soft light streamed into the red brick-walled space. A pneumatic air compressor whirred in the background, the screech of an electric drill punctuating its steady hum.

Amid all of the construction sounds, debris and dust lies the start of a new chapter for the nearly 100-year-old building. After two decades as Everyday Joe's Coffee House and roughly eight months sitting vacant, the building is on its way to becoming The Neighbor, a new multiuse events space, wedding venue, cafe and bar dreamed up by Connor Garland, Alex Ruiz Garland and Sam Hummel.

The trio all had previous ties to Everyday Joe's Coffee House, which started in 2003 as a nonprofit coffee shop and neighborhood outreach program for Timberline Church.

Connor and Sam — childhood friends who grew up together in Loveland — started volunteering at Everyday Joe's when they were attending Colorado State University over a decade ago. Connor went on to serve as its director from 2017 to 2023, he said.

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Alex, who formerly worked as a notary, would meet her clients at Everyday Joe's to notarize their documents. Connor took notice from behind the coffee bar.

"I knew her as the beautiful notary who came into (the shop)," Connor said while standing outside 144 S. Mason St. with Alex and Sam last week.

"Write that down," Alex said, laughing. "Beautiful notary."

The couple wed in 2022.

"The best relationships in our lives all stemmed from this community, the Everyday Joe's community," Connor said.

So when Timberline Church announced it would be shuttering Everyday Joe's last summer , Sam, Connor and Alex all jumped on the idea of taking over the space. They leased the 4,100-square-foot building in early May and launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project. Online backers ultimately donated $78,815 to help get The Neighbor off the ground, far exceeding the fundraiser's initial $60,000 goal.

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The trio envisions The Neighbor as a space for private events like weddings and office holiday parties, and community events ranging from dog fashion shows and Lucha Libre wrestling matches to yoga classes and live music. When The Neighbor is not closed for private events, its coffee shop and bar will be open to the public, Connor said. It was granted a liquor license earlier this month and plans to serve beer, wine, batched cocktails and small bites to Fort Collins' happy hour crowd, according to Alex and Connor.

Construction on The Neighbor will continue through this summer, with a likely opening date coming this fall, Connor said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Here's what's taking over the old Everyday Joe's Coffee House in Old Town Fort Collins