After roasting test batches of coffee, The Giddy Goat in Plaza Midwood offers samples to passersby. The coffee shop is in the former Sushi Guru space. Kristen Wile/UP

When the coffee is roasting at The Giddy Goat in Plaza Midwood, the smell permeates the street. The smoke lingers around the building, emanating from a 25-pound roaster from San Franciscan Roaster Co. The coffee shop hasn’t yet opened its doors, but lucky passersby will sometimes find the large windows open with carafes of coffee waiting to be sampled. Cofounder Carson Clough, who opens The Giddy Goat with Rhyne Davis (formerly of S&D Coffee), is eager to hear feedback, and will happily give you a cup of coffee to get it. 

The new roastery and coffee shop in the former Sushi Guru space on The Plaza will open when Covid-19 regulations lighten up, according to Clough. 

“We didn’t make the space to be Covid-friendly, let’s put it that way,” Clough says. “You’re supposed to bump into people. You’re supposed to meet your new business partner or your new best friend or come with a bunch of friends and try new things. It’s a very communal, friendly spot.”

The coffee served will be roasted in-house, and a row of 16 taps will serve a variety of cold brew and nitro coffees. The interior of the former sushi restaurant has been opened up, with the roasters taking a prominent space in the front of the dining room. Tables and comfortable seats are peppered throughout, with a bar upstairs replacing what used to be the sushi counter. The coffee shop will serve a menu of healthy foods for breakfast, brunch, and lunch, with items including breakfast bowls and salads. Partnerships with local bakeries are also in the works. One thing Clough is particularly interested in is a classic California-style breakfast burrito. The Giddy Goat will also sell beer, wine, and cocktails such as Irish coffees and bloody Marys, with hours in the morning until 9 or 10 p.m. 

The shop’s logo — a surfing goat — was inspired by Clough’s love of surfing and hiking. That love his led him to take sustainability seriously.

“You don’t want to be hiking in the mountains or sitting on a surfboard and see the top off a one-time coffee cup,” he says, so The Giddy Goat will use compostable containers and work with Crown Town Compost. 

Plaza Midwood residents may notice some pop-up soft openings with coffee available for purchase from the window, but Clough is hesitant to open the coffee shop until he can give customers the experience he has helped dream up, with drone video of the coffee being harvested playing on a screen near the roasters as the scent of the coffee surrounds guests. 

With Supperland opening across the street and Whiskey Warehouse next door, Clough hopes his section of The Plaza will soon rival Commonwealth and Thomas avenues as the place to visit in Plaza Midwood.