With the prevalence of chain coffee stores, it is worthwhile knowing that there are a sprinkling of independent coffee vendors throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Change Alley Old London Coffee House, located at the foot of Lone Mountain, is one of the newest independents on the scene and is a welcome addition.
The curious name stems from the 18th-century London district of alleyways that housed a group of coffeehouses where stock transactions were conducted prior to the formal organization of the stock exchange. (Change Alley is merely an abbreviation of the original name, Exchange Alley.) Businessmen came to these coffeehouses to transact their business and to socialize in comfort over coffee and a good meal. From this cozy group of buyers and sellers, the London Stock Exchange was born.
Change Alley’s owner, Pat Rodgers, seeks to create a similarly congenial atmosphere in his six-month-old strip-mall location at the far northwest corner of the Valley. “I want to create a true coffeehouse environment for my customers,” Rodgers said, “not merely duplicate the fast-food environment of the major coffee chains.”
Upon entering the simply decorated and airy spot, guests are met by an attractive case filled with a combination of house-made and carefully selected breakfast pastries, desserts and luncheon choices. The coffee and tea choices are the usual lattes, brewed teas and chais, and there is a large selection of noncoffee alternatives, the dessert-like Blenders and smoothies. (The latter are made without any added sugar.) Weather permitting, you can take your purchases to the attractive outside patio area.
The breakfast pastries range from high-level commercial muffins and bagels to house-baked specialties like cinnamon rolls, crumb cake and scones. The cinnamon rolls and crumb cake are good, but the scones are a revelation. Unlike the usual leaden lumps found in most coffee places, these are light and melt in the mouth. Lunch choices are limited but are suitable for a light meal. There is a daily soup choice, a selection of grilled-to-order panini and a variety of quiche. The smokehouse chicken panini is especially nice, but although the quiche lorraine is flavorful, the pastry suffers a bit from being reheated in the microwave.
Desserts include cheesecakes made by the cheesecake factory, house-made cream puffs and brownies (good, but a bit on the dry side) and freshly baked oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. The cookies are a standout; no shortcuts are taken with the ingredients, and they are allowed sufficient oven time to cook all the way through.
But the best thing about Change Alley is the coffee. Locally roasted by the Whole Bean on Sahara, which imports the raw beans and roasts them here in Las Vegas, the two house blends (dark and light) are exclusive to Change Alley; a decaffeinated blend also is available. All are smooth with no bitterness or burnt flavor and have a rich, creamy finish. For the specialty drinks, the baristas proudly hand-tamp the freshly ground coffee—no all-in-one automated process here. In addition, there is sufficient coffee in the drinks so the coffee taste comes through clearly. This is a welcome change from the milked-out product often found in the popular chains.
Located just off the 215 Beltway at Cheyenne, Change Alley caters to folks in the new housing developments near the location. The open seating and free wi-fi access also make it a pleasant place to have a business meeting or to linger while surfing the web. However, as it is only a quick jump off the Beltway, it makes an easy stop to pick up coffee and pastries for the troops on your way to work. A large 12-cup Coffee Pot to Go is available.
Change Alley Old London Coffee House
3350 Novat St., Suite 105
734-9100
Open Mon.-Fri., 6 a.m.-9 a.m.
Sat.-Sun., 7 a.m.-6 p.m.