Colectivo has been a staple in the Monroe St neighborhood, since its inception in February of 2015, as well as the Madison Community as a whole. With its lovely rustic look and homey feel, Colectivo has grown to become one of Madison’s favorite coffee shops. Located down the street from our main office, in front of Wingra Park, all are welcome to enjoy a marvelous hot cup of coffee while meeting people from all walks of life. In this bitter Wisconsin winter, it’s never a bad idea to bundle up and take a break or study, and head on over to your local coffee shop. A trip that will not be regretful, that’s for sure!
Colectivo is an experience you don’t want to miss. As you walk in the smell of the freshly brewed coffee will make you feel warm and calm, the joyful smiles of the employee’s faces will invite you into a very relaxing yet professional environment.
You can also expect to see local people from the community, studying, working, or just enjoying themselves! The bakery offers delicious treats, as Colectivo’s own Troubadour Bakery prepares all of the goods from scratch from locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and are made daily, furthering their positive outreach into the community and proving their values and beliefs to be fresh and local. Their baked goods are so delicious, they are sent all over Madison to other Coffee shops, too.
If the wintertime is just not for you, be sure to stop by in the Summer. The whole space is opened and they raise the large windows to let warm air and the natural breeze in. This is an experience that is truly unique.
As a committed member of the community, Colectivo is also a part of the Monroe Street Merchants Association
A Little History
Founded in 1992, in the basement of a Milwaukee warehouse, by three coffee enthusiasts who wanted a better cup of coffee, Lincoln Fowler, Ward Fowler, and Paul Miller embarked on a journey based on the ideals of Local, Fresh, Fairtrade, Sustainability, and a sense of community, while achieving a great fresh cup of coffee. Opening as Alterra Coffee, the three founders created their first shop in Bayshore Mall, and with it, they brought on-site roasting to the scene. In 1994, they embarked on the first of many trips to Latin America for direct sourcing relationships with the growers. Since then, they kept their promise of sourcing the beans from the origin and roasting every batch, by hand.
In 1998 the company partnered with Kulaktik Co-Operative to form their first Fairtrade buying relationship. As they continued to grow in 1999 they decided to expand into serving baked goods, and in 2012 Troubadour Bakery joined the family.
Continuing their principles which they were founded on, Colectivo is proud to, “work with local farmers and producers around the Midwest, who provide us with the highest quality local ingredients available.”
Here at Alvarado Real Estate Group, we are grateful to be business neighbors with this wonderful, local company on Monroe Street. Sharing similar values of community and sustainability while promoting the Buy Local movement makes us proud supporters!
We know many of you are busy buying Holiday gifts. And some of you haven’t even started yet. We have some terrific local options to help ease your gift buying experience. This list is created for people in and around Dane County, WI. If you’re reading this and you’re not in this area, we hope that you do a little Google search and find some great local options for you.