First off, an homage to place...

The university heights is one of the best possible places to live life: in a highly-condensed wear-and-tear environment, the stressed-out coincide with the stretched-out in an exemplary collaboration of getting along and going beyond.

We're honored to be pouring cups here.

The generosity, enthusiasm and hard work we've been privileged to witness across our counter truly empowers us.

Thanks, and: go, cat, go!

Winning Coffee got its name from the guy who started the place - Rob Winning. An intersting character. Rob had a long history of colliding coffee and culture. He had a PhD in film, wrote episodes for Knot's Landing and Miami Vice and had a unique relationship with the Steppenwolf theatre in Chicago. As a parallel pursuit, he had opened the legendary Blind Faith coffeehouse on Chicago's north side and upon relocating to the southwest, had run the revered Gallisteo News in Santa Fe. Winning Coffee was his brainchild while working with the Wolfe's bagel chain in its 90's heyday.

When the Wolfe's empire suffered an abrupt contraction, Rob bought the place out of hock with his friends and partners Dan and Chris (whom you'll still meet around). Their unique and generous vision set the stage for the thriving center that is Winning Coffee today - a coffeehouse/cafe sprung from the finest traditions of active community partnership, and beholden to the tempestuous cult of caffiene.

In 2003, the original partners passed the place to its current trio of owners. Of the three, Rich and Sandy had worked at Winning from its early days, helping create and grow the place while benefitting greatly from the original owners' support of their artwork - the two ran a small theatre company which trained, rehearsed and performed at the coffeehouse during off-hours. The third, Bryan, was a friend of Rich's since childhood and had been involved with both Rich and Sandy in recycling/rehabilitating local neighborhood housing, before joining the theatre group.

Rich, Sandy and Bryan sought to preserve and evolve the original vision of a lively, catalytic coffeehouse. Merging the artistic endeavors of thier burgeoning theatre with the creative ecology of Winning's thriving culture, the three are building a unique model for integrating community with performing arts.

Today, Winning Coffee, q-Staff theatre and q-Staff homestead (the group residence) form a unique ecosystem within Albuquerque's extraordinary culture. Providing service and support to the diverse peoples of this extraordinary community is a privilege and an ongoing aspiration.