Cool Idiot Coffee

Description: Compact coffee counter located inside HopFly Brewing in Charlotte’s South End, near the stairwell. The menu centers on espresso drinks alongside matcha, loose-leaf tea, hand-squeezed lemonade, and pastries. It works well as a quick caffeine stop, or as an add-on when you want a coffee while hanging out in the larger taproom it sits within.

Comments: This spot is inside HopFly Brewing, which means there’s plenty of seating and space to spread out.  My favorite area is upstairs, there’s a side room area with some lounge chairs that face South Mint Street and then a patio with great views of the Charlotte skyline. Nice lowkey spot to hangout in an otherwise busy neighborhood.

The coffee shop itself has its own counter behind the breweries main counter downstairs. The menu is expansive, with house made syrups, all sorts of coffee options, some pastries (no cinnamon rolls but they’ve got some other nice options), herbal teas, and more. HopFly Brewing aesthetically is pretty standard Charlotte brewery, some variation of industrial chic, but I like it, they play good music.

Free Wi-Fi so this is also a solid work/study option, just bring noise canceling headphones. Access to outlets is good downstairs by the taller tables. Parking is the biggest challenge here. There are a few free spots in a small parking lot, but it’s usually full, so it’s street parking from there that’s a mix of free parallel and some paid lots nearby.