Hall of Fame: Lamplighter Roasting Co.

First Place: Black Hand Coffee Co.

3101 Patterson Ave.
855-0800
blackhandcoffeeco.com

Second Place: Stir Crazy Café

Third Place: Perk

Build it and they will come, goes the old line. Zach and Noelle Archibald, with partner Jennifer Rawlings, took that sentiment to heart and built a Portland-style coffeehouse in an abandoned garage
— and not only did Richmond come, two more locations had to be built to accommodate the deluge. Black Hand shows that Richmond’s do-it yourself aesthetic extends even to coffee, making it very much
a town that prefers its roasters and cafes to be local. And many call Black Hand’s dirty chai a religious experience. Long-timers may recall its original location in the Devil’s Triangle, but for the past five years, it’s called a corner on Patterson Avenue in the Museum District home. Happily for caffeine addicts, it’s about to open its newest baby, Café Nostra, adjacent to its new Brookland Park roasting facility — fans there say it can’t happen soon enough.