Why Locals and Visitors Love Kittitas Cafe: A Community Staple with Great Coffee, Food, and Live Music
Tucked into the heart of the tiny rural town of Kittitas, Washington, just outside Ellensburg, Kittitas Cafe is an unexpectedly cool destination serving specialty coffee, fresh pastries, breakfast, and lunch. But it's more than just a cafe. Throughout the summer, Kittitas Cafe's backyard transforms into a live music venue featuring some of the best local musicians in Washington State.
As a regular customer of the cafe, I always tell people that the place just feels different—it has good energy. So, I was intrigued to learn more about how it all came to be. After spending an afternoon with the owner, Mackenzie, I learned a bit of what the secret sauce is that makes this place so special—a space created with old pieces full of history that have been brought back to life, a focus on people, a menu that puts an adventurous twist on the classics, and a business that functions as a community hub.
Where Old Stories Find New Life: How Kittitas CafE Was Built
Walking into Kittitas Cafe, you immediately get the sense that every piece has a story. A vintage salon chair from the 1950s greets visitors at the door. A disco ball sparkles above the coffee bar. Mid-century lanterns hang over a corner table, and the furniture is an eclectic mix of styles and finishes. Almost everything in the cafe was purchased secondhand, repurposed, or rescued from somewhere else—a reflection of the resourcefulness it took to build the business.
Kittitas Cafe just after the lunch time rush.
That scrappy spirit runs deep for Mackenzie. "I think I inherited it from my parents," she says. "They always just figured things out as they went."
Mackenzie was living in Australia when her parents purchased the building and attached apartment in 2018. The original plan was for her mom to use the space as a furniture refinishing studio. But as Mackenzie considered moving back to Washington, another idea began to take shape.
"I always wanted to have my own restaurant," she said. "So we all talked about it, took a risk, and did it."
The building was in rough shape. The ceiling was falling in, and the space needed a complete overhaul. Rather than taking out a loan, Mackenzie funded the project one paycheck at a time while working at The Tav in Ellensburg. Over the next two years, she slowly gathered equipment, materials, and furniture. The kitchen was assembled largely from salvaged and secondhand pieces, including a reach-in refrigerator from the local elementary school. Friends and family all pitched in, helping transform the deteriorating building into the vibrant Kittitas gathering place it is today.
The centerpiece of Kittitas Cafe—the coffee bar—started as a 50-foot-long L-shaped bar in Yakima. After sitting unsold for years, the owners eventually listed it for just $50 because nobody could figure out how to move it.
"My friends rolled it out on a dolly and onto a trailer," Mackenzie laughed. After reshaping, repainting, and adding new countertops, it became the centerpiece of the cafe.
The stories continue throughout the space. Many of the sturdy wooden chairs came from Central Washington University, some dating back to the 1960s, purchased for just 50 cents apiece. The tabletops and coffee bar countertop were crafted from the old Ellensburg High School basketball court and bleachers before the building was remodeled.
"They were just going to tear it all down," Mackenzie said. Instead, her father, Rich, along with friends Del Enders Sr. and John Yoder, carefully removed the materials and transformed them into furniture that now fills the cafe.
"Those guys are the dream team," Mackenzie says. "They're incredibly talented and can do anything."
Her mom also played a major role, refinishing furniture, painting, and helping shape the design of the space.
Mackenzie originally planned to open in June 2020, but the pandemic delayed those plans. After years of work, Kittitas Cafe finally opened its doors on June 30, 2021—a business built not only from salvaged materials, but from the creativity and support of an entire community.
The People Behind Kittitas Cafe
Early on, Mackenzie realized she couldn’t—and shouldn’t—do everything alone. When I asked how she comes up with all the yummy new featured drink flavors every month (often with scratch-made syrups and sauces), like the Freddy Mercury Matcha or the orange creamsicle white chocolate mocha, she emphasized it’s a group creative effort that her crew fully leads themselves. Mackenzie says she learned that when she let her team take on more ownership, like coming up with new food and drink ideas, it not only took the pressure off her, but it also made her team better.
“I didn't have a lot of management experience or business experience coming into this,” Mackenzie explained. “I just knew how to work in the industry. I’m still learning, and that's one of the difficult parts of my job, but it's also really rewarding, and how cool it is to be a lifelong student.”
Mackenzie spent years working nearly every role in the food and beverage industry—from dishwasher and baker to barista and assistant manager—before opening Kittitas Cafe.
She says she learned the most while working at The Tav in Ellensburg for many years. It was fast-paced, fun, and it helped her learn what true leadership looks like. “Tammy, who is the owner, was a really great leader, and very kind. I experienced gratitude from her, which was kind of rare. I hadn’t really experienced that elsewhere. I thought ‘I want to be a boss like that.’ Making people feel good and trusted. And like they are welcome there. It taught me a lot about how I want to lead.”
Mackenzie calls her team members “amazing”. I asked her how she finds such good people to work at the cafe, and she said her new process of doing working interviews has helped a lot. “A candidate comes in and works for a few hours to see how it feels for them and for us," she says. “And I get a feel for the personalities that work best here and with everyone else.”
Mackenzie says it took a lot to get to where she is today as a business owner and leader. When asked what she would do differently, she doesn't hesitate. "I wouldn't change anything," she says. "Everything that happened got me here."
What Makes the Kittitas CafE Menu So Unique
At first glance, the menu feels familiar—coffee, pastries, breakfast, and lunch staples, but if you look a little closer you’ll notice there is a unique twist. You can expect to get classics like a freshly made cinnamon roll, but the pastry case is also filled with a curated selection of more unique pastries that change each day. That pastry case is what first turned me into a regular customer, thanks to creations like the white chocolate coconut cream croissant (with fresh shredded coconut in the cream) or the blackberry and fresh mint scone. The best part is that Mackenzie posts a photo each morning of what the day’s selection is on her Instagram stories, so customers can easily determine if it’s something they want to hurry in for.
As for the made to order food, the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit Sandwich is a personal favorite of mine. It comes with honey cured bacon, one egg cooked to order, cheddar cheese, Jake’s Dijon breakfast sauce, and a house made buttermilk biscuit that makes me drool just thinking about it. But last winter, they created a seasonal twist on this dish with a brown butter and sage biscuit, gouda cheese, a choice of bacon, sausage, ham, capicola or avocado, and Jake’s breakfast sauce. Little twists or “pushes” on the classics like this are all part of what makes Kittitas Cafe special.
“I want people to feel seen and have the classics they want but also encourage people to step out of their comfort zone,” Mackenzie says. “And I think something that we’ve done here is bridge a path from the usual or safe to the more exciting.”
Sometimes that means encouraging a customer to try a new homemade syrup in their usual drink or suggesting they swap their preferred classic BLT sandwich for a honey pear panini, which is a little sweeter than savory. Mackenzie says the goal is to do it in a way that’s not too different (or scary) but in a way that expands their idea of what food and drink can be.
“We can't all afford to go to a farm-to-table restaurant or go to another country and experience their culture,” she says. “But if you're in your little hometown, and we can give you something that's going to be a little bit unique, or take you on an adventure, that's kind of cool.”
When I asked Mackenzie why all this matters to her, she said it’s because she simply loves food. And she wants to share that love with others. “I think food is wonderful, and I love experiencing new tastes and flavors. The more people that I can make fall in love with food and coffee—it just fills me up.”
“That’s why I went into this business. To share my love of food.”
Live Music and a Deep Sense of Community at Kittitas CafE
It was clear in my conversation with Mackenzie that she receives a lot of help from friends, family, and members of the community—but she gives that right back tenfold. From making the space feel welcoming no matter who you are (there is even a sign that confirms “You are welcome here. You belong.”), to having a huge bulletin board where locals can advertise their businesses to the people waiting in line, to hosting a full-blown summer concert series for everyone to enjoy for free.
The Kittitas Cafe Summer Concert Series offers food and drinks, and is held in the backyard of the cafe, which has a patio, beautiful green lawn, large shade tree, and a unique custom-built stage made by her dad and Del out of an old box truck he found in a dump yard. The lineup features local and regional musicians in a mix of genres that reflect the diversity of the area. “We have such a musical valley with so many bands,” says Mackenzie. This includes her sister, Abbigale, who performed locally in a band for a long time and was one of the main reasons they were inspired to build a stage and bring music to the cafe. “Live music has always been a huge part of my upbringing—my family loves it.”
For visitors exploring Central and Eastern Washington, attending a concert at Kittitas Cafe offers a chance to experience the area's strong sense of community firsthand. It's the kind of event where you'll find longtime locals, families, travelers passing through, and music lovers all sharing the same lawn on a summer evening.
What started as a small idea has grown into events drawing up to 250 people at a time. The first show was in the summer of 2022 and expanded to four shows the following year. Mackenzie says the sweet spot is now about 6–7 shows per summer. And thanks to local sponsors, the concerts are free to attend.
Mackenzie also gets help from some of her regular customers who help make the concert series a success. Brandon Shields handles sound for the shows, while professional dance instructor Jeff House will teach salsa and country swing lessons before select concerts to help attendees feel more comfortable getting out on the dance floor. The Rodeo City Roller Derby from Ellensburg and The Bearded Sinners Club of Central Washington also volunteer their time to provide security and assist with age verification for the bar.
Even the cafe’s bulletin wall—covered in flyers and postings—has organically become a community hub for promoting other local businesses and events.
“I don't even remember how it started, but I think it's great to support other businesses,” Mackenzie shared. “It's kind of like a fun little directory for people to see, especially if they're standing in line. This community is good at supporting each other.”
Mackenzie says that the cafe customers are the best she’s had in all her years of restaurant industry jobs. When I asked her why that is, she said their employee mission statement is to “love on everyone so hard they can't help but love you back.” And the customers truly share that love back.
“We try to greet everyone and say goodbye to everyone,” she says. “Because you never know if you're the only person that said hello to them that day or that whole week, and it could mean a lot to them. We try and make sure that everyone feels like a regular whether they are or not.”
And maybe that's why people go out of their way to drive to this tiny town for a morning coffee, a pastry, lunch with friends, or an evening concert. The love and intention poured into every aspect of Kittitas Cafe—from the salvaged pieces that fill the space to the adventurous menu to the way customers are greeted at the door—creates something that's increasingly rare: a place where people genuinely feel welcome.
When I first sat down with Mackenzie, I wanted to understand why Kittitas Cafe felt different from so many other coffee shops. After hearing her story, I think the answer is simple. The "good energy" isn't coming from the disco ball, the coffee, or even the concerts. It's coming from the people who built it, the people who work there, and the community that continues to gather around it.
Mackenzie, the owner and powerhouse behind the beloved community staple, Kittitas Cafe
Plan Your Visit to Kittitas Cafe
Whether you're looking for breakfast or a great cup of coffee near Ellensburg, a lunch break on your travels across I-90, or live music in Eastern Washington, Kittitas Cafe is worth the stop.
Address:
301 N Main St.
Kittitas, WA 98934
Instagram:
@kittitascafe
Website:
https://kittitascafe.com/
Known For:
Specialty coffee drinks
Fresh pastries made in-house
Breakfast and lunch
Monthly featured food and drink menu
The Kittitas Cafe Summer Concert Series
Kittitas Cafe Summer Concert Series 2026:
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