Clare’s Coffee Review- Lot 63

By: Clare Buchanan

Over Thanksgiving Break, while the majority of Salem College flocked back to their homesteads for the holidays, I remained on campus for what I have been referring to as my “Nine Days Of Solitude.” Living on campus during a week-long break at Salem requires an almost primal sense of self and resourcefulness. Everything goes completely quiet. You can go days without seeing another living creature. (Unless you spot the occasional squirrel or bumbling, lost tourist.)

The most pressing challenge I am yet to face during my Nine Days Of Solitude is finding a way to fill this suddenly endless amount of time I have on my hands, all while having no car and a lack of substantial funds to entertain me.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about living in Winston-Salem on a budget and without a car, it is that any city can be walkable if you want it badly enough. Nothing can stop these two feet of mine, as I trudge and trek over crumbling sidewalks, wade through the wetlands, hop over potholes, and scale the highway overpasses with great determination. 

Fortunately, Salem College is located in a prime location for traveling troubadours such as myself. Even more miraculous is the array of coffee shops at one’s disposal in Winston-Salem. 

As a lover of the bean, I took it upon myself to review one local, walkable coffee shop each day during my Nine Days Of Solitude. (Except on Thanksgiving because everything will be closed. ❤️)

The criteria is as follows:

At each location, I will order the same drink (a hot vanilla latte with 2% milk) and judge the drink based on price and taste. I will also take into consideration the ambiance of each coffee shop, the customer service, and how likely I am to take up an entire table for hours using their free wifi like the little leech I am! 

First up on my coffee expedition was Old Salem’s own, the beloved, Lot 63!

LOT 63

(614 S Main St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101)

• Walkability: 2 minute walk from campus. 1 minute if you walk fast. 30 seconds if you run.
• Order: Hot vanilla latte with 2% milk.
• Price: $4.81 (cheap!) 5/5 squirrels.
• Taste: This is some good quality bean right here. If you like to drink coffee but don’t like the taste of coffee-Lot 63 is not the spot for you. If you are a coffee lover, a bean enthusiast, and a caffeine hound-Lot 63 could be home. The vanilla syrup isn’t too sweet, which is fine with me. It’s a hearty and traditional taste. 4/5 squirrels.
• Ambiance: It’s currently November and it is a full blown winter wonderland in there. It’s what I imagine the North Pole looks like year round. Walking in there feels like stepping into a Southern Living or Better Homes and Garden magazine shoot. No matter the time of year, Lot 63 has a unique and specially curated vibe. Lot 63 honors its Moravian roots and sticks to them. Usually, I am against coffee shops that also operate as breweries/tap houses. BUT, I will make an exception just this once because Lot 63 is truly grounded in their identity and purpose as the social hub of Old Salem. Lot 63 doesn’t try too hard- it has a few leather couches, some wooden chairs and tables, and an espresso machine. That’s all you need. The playlists are always indie perfection- there’s usually some Mazzy Star and Gregory Alan Isakov action going on that pleases someone such as myself. Not to mention one of the greatest little surprises Lot 63 has to offer- a tucked away study cubby with Moravian stained glass windows. How cool is that?! I’m geeking out. Lastly, you cannot sit anywhere in this damn coffee shop without having a spectacular view of Old Salem. The views are so spectacular I spend half of my time staring out of them whimsically instead of doing the work I came there to do. 5/5 squirrels.
• Customer Service: The Lot 63 experience would be nothing if not for the heavenly angels that work here. Shoutout to Trent and that pink cap! The baristas here are very patient with me as I aggressively try to become a local they know by name as I ask them, “What would you recommend?” every single time I come in, which is like multiple times a week at this point. 5/5 squirrels.

Lot 63 is hard to beat. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s review…I will be visiting “DeBeen Espresso” for the first time. Yelp reviews have said “DeBeen Espresso” is a “wonderfully, eclectic shop”, but I’ll be the judge of that.