Seeding magic in 750 sq. ft.
Lauren Cook, Founder
It all started with a table. And four vintage ceramic mugs.
Or really, it started with a white pomegranate hot tea in one of those mugs alongside a savory vegetable pie slice. If you know me well, you know my very favorite coffee shop in Austin was Pacha. I went there for tea, lattes, quiche, and the famous Veggie Torta.
Poorly-lit photo of a slice of Veggie Torta, a savory vegetable pie (2017). Lauren and Anne have baked it and have yet to achieve the intended height. Anne has gotten closest!
For 10+ years, I spent much of my creative time at Pacha. I brainstormed, dreamed, wrote, and learned there. I met friends and colleagues and strangers and became family with baristas and servers. They gifted me lattes, recipes, and even checked on me when I was sick. I’ve previously written about this special place–TWICE!
When they moved to a new spot from their original Burnet Road location after twenty years, I was sad and worried. When they closed permanently in late 2023, I was heartbroken.
Amidst the goodbye hugs and well wishes, the manager sold off the tables, chairs, and dishware. I purchased my favorite rickety, hand-painted wooden table and four chipped Fiesta coffee mugs.
And without knowing it . . . the decor and spirit of the Connecting Our Stories home was born, before we ever thought about having a brick-and-mortar office.
The Pacha table’s new COS home.
After Pacha closed, I learned that the owners of the original coffee shop building also rented small commercial office space. We connected and the rest is COS history.
I didn’t know what would manifest when I signed the lease (something I feel often as an entrepreneur), but it felt a bit magical from the start. Anne and I smudged each room with dried sage from my backyard. We said out loud what we wished and hoped would happen in each of the three rooms. What connections may be made. What ideas may be born. What stories may be told.
Anne and Lauren burning dried sage to bless the COS office (Spring 2024).
During only its first year, this space has hosted countless hugs, hundreds of cups of tea, creative collaborations, ideations, workshops, learnings, and laughs.
Seven hundred and fifty square feet of connection. It turns out, in-person connections are our thing. It’s where comfort and creativity are seeded. It’s where the magic happens.
Have you visited us here yet? If not, we extend an open invitation.
Come share your thoughts and some tea with us. Bring your weary soul or your professional wondering. Come with an idea or come only for a hug.
At COS, we believe in-person gatherings are an act of resistance these days – a way to maintain our humanity and connection in a world that seems far from humane and connected.
So pop on over. Select your signature mug color. Borrow a book from the community library. Come be yourself with us.
See you soon, friend.
Come on over and pay us a visit!