Rivers and Roads Coffee — Restaurant in Denver

We love this place when we visit Denver because it's dedicated gluten free which is great for my girlfriend who has Celiac disease. But this last time that we went was after we had easily the worst travel experience and one of the worst days of our lives. Long story short, my girlfriend and I were trapped at the Denver airport with hundreds of others during the snowstorm and didn't have any warm clothing (in minus-10 degree weather) due to baggage issues. We were left in an apocalyptic setting at the airport while DIA and Southwest seemingly just left us to fend for ourselves and figure it out. After making it to our lodging at 5am and getting a few hours of sleep, Rivers and Road was the first place we visited in the morning.

We ordered our food and exchanged pleasantries with the cashier with the long pigtail braids. She asked an innocent question about how our day was going, and we gave her the short version of our story. It's hard to explain what happened next, but she listened with empathy, made us feel heard, and ended up bringing a few donut holes over to our table on the house to brighten up our morning. The small act of kindness really made a huge difference as we were really just abandoned by all airport employees just a few hours ago and were literally dealing with trying to figure out how to make it out of terminal C when the tram wasn't working and later on even asking ourselves if we could take the train to a stop near our lodging and run 1 mile in minus-10 degree weather with just a fleece layer and make it safely since no Rideshares were operating by the time we made it to baggage claim.

Anyhow, thank you to the brunette woman in the long pigtails. It was a small gesture, but it made a world of difference to us and isn't something that we'll...

Went here the other day and I could feel the male barista judging me in a sexist way. As a female, I am actually allowed to go to a coffee shop by myself and just be neutral. Not overly smiley, or “nice.” Just neutral, you know - like a dude can be.

Imagine the kind of service mindset you are supposed to have as a barista extending out to women’s whole existence while in public spaces - the service of constantly being attuned to men’s feelings and behavior. Having that sixth sense as to if an unstable man could violently go off. And of course women don’t get tipped for it. So on top of that heavy energetic navigation, no I don’t also owe you the unpaid emotional labor of a smile and catering to your feelings…expecially when I am the one tipping for service.

I did like coming here for the egg sandwiches, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable coming back and spending money only to be treated with unconscious and unpacked sexism. I hope you do some reflection and inner work on how you treat male and female customers differently.

Almost comical too that when I was there a dude was sitting at a table with his legs sprawled on a different chair, and manspreading so much his junk might as well been hanging out..and of course no judgement or comments from the male...

Rivers and Roads is a small, modern cafe with great decor, friendly staff, quality drinks, and a great selection of healthy dishes.

We split a serving of the avocado toast, veggie breakfast sandwich, and a lemon and rosemary muffin. Each one was amazing. The veggie breakfast sandwich was surprisingly filling with crunchy crust and fluffy innards. The slightly sweet acidity of the tomatoes complimented the spices in the eggs perfectly.

A heaping medley of veggies was served on a thick cut piece of whole wheat toast. The light sauce they used to keep everything together wasn't overpowering and coupled with the creaminess of the avocado to become something greater than the sum of their parts.

The muffin was perfectly sweetened and the lemon flavor was fresh and authentic. My only complaint was that it was a little spongy, thought that makes for clean eating with no muffin crumbles scattering about if you're eating on the go.

I tried the chai tea and drip coffee as well. The coffee had a bold, clean taste and was brewed expertly. The chai tea was rich and full spicy flavor. While being a little spicy for my friend, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly reccomend it on a cold day.

Rivers and Roads is an wonderful way to start a...