There’s something distinctively Colorado about a cafe housed inside of a former junior high school, that also shares a space with an art collective. When you walk through the doors, the space opens into a large, welcoming seating area spread across several rooms with plenty of couches and tables. Take a cue from the local college crowd and get some work done or catch up with your yoga buddies after a class over a glass of housemade chai.

The ArtRoom Collective is a vibrant community of artists in Durango located in the Smiley Building. This collaborative space houses several talented artists working in various media, including painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture. The ArtRoom Collective is dedicated to promoting the arts in the community by providing a supportive environment for artists to create, exhibit, and sell their work.

Coffee not only helps spark these connections but serves as a conduit for community engagement. Shops like Animas Chocolate and Coffee Company display works by local artists that inspire conversation about Durango’s thriving creative scene. Hermosa Cafe hosts monthly book clubs that meet on the sunny patio, while the Rochester Hotel and Bar shakes up traditional networking with coffee and cocktail mixers.

According to the Eat Zawadi Facebook page, Safari began working on Zawadi with Grant Andrew, the current owner of the Smiley Cafe, in February, right before you-know-what happened. But now it’s open at both the Smiley Cafe on East Third Avenue and a location in College Plaza on East Eighth Avenue, depending on what meal you’re looking for. It’s open at Smiley for lunch from 11:30 a.m.

The Smiley Café is another coffee shop in Durango that serves an assortment of specialty coffee drinks, but they also offer breakfast items, boba tea, and pastries. A few notable menu items include the lavender latte, Peruvian mocha, and a chai latte. Their food items include breakfast quiches, cookies, nutty bars, and brownies.

1309 E 3rd Ave, Durango, CO 81301, USA(970) 844-0771 View Menu Open in Google Maps. I recently had the pleasure of visiting The Smiley Cafe for their afternoon tea, and I must say, it was a delightful experience. Tucked away on 3rd Avenue in the charming town of Durango, Colorado, this café exudes a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Located inside the historic Smiley Building, The Smiley Cafe offers an array of beverages including coffee, tea, wellness shots, and boba. They also have homemade goodies both sweet and savory to accompany. The community centric building is a great place to get some work done or relax outside in the grassy areas.

Smiley Cafe: It’s rare for a day to go by in Durango without a visit to Smiley Cafe. It is inside of an old elementary school and is such a cute little place to walk around. We get coffee/tea/hot chocolates and baked goods then go to Buckley Park, which is right around the corner for a little picnic.

This coffee shop has an excellent reputation for multiple things, most notably their gluten free and vegan food options. While you sip on your coffee, taste a variety of foods including sandwiches, burritos, scones, muffins, quiche and more made fresh in the shop daily. Taste Coffee Facebook

Address: Emory E Smiley Junior High School, 1309 East 3rd Avenue, Durango, CO 81301. Located in the historic Smiley Building just two blocks from Camino Del Rio, the Smiley Café bakes all items in-house. Smiley Café is gluten-free, unless otherwise noted.

The ArtRoom Collective at The Smiley is Durango’s working studio gallery where 22 artists, jewelers, potters, leather crafters and others create and sell their handmade goods.

Their muffins and quiches are incredible and soft and fluffy!. I felt like for a moment I wasn’t gluten free again. The environment here was relaxing and fun.

The Smiley Cafe for all things gluten free - baked goods, salads, etc - and a great work environment if you’re working or studying on the go.

So she's going to be here with Shell Roberts who shows her work a lot at the Smiley. So those two will be sharing the space April 1st.