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Meghan Winkler
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Meghan Winkler
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Meghan Winkler
A lighthearted mural by Canton artist Mikey Burton greets you inside Walkie Talkie Espresso & Coffee with orange illustrative doodles of cheeky sayings like “Take the Can’t Outta Canton,” “Walkie Don’t Runnie” and “Don’t Lose Heart.” Inside a tangerine- and teal-painted former Canton service station with a salmon-and-mint walkie-talkie art piece, Walkie Talkie exudes both playfulness and passion for inventive coffee.
“We have fun, and we enjoy brightness,” says manager John King. “We wanted everything we did — be it hiring, how we source things, how we interact with customers — to be done with heart.”
The staffers remember customers’ names and orders from their distinctive menu of matchas, cappuccinos and lattes fittingly made from Portland, Oregon-based Heart Roasters beans. Many drinks are made from the medium roast Stereo espresso blend that has fruitiness and chocolatey back notes, which get emphasized in the Chocolatte ($5.75-$6.50). Baristas let steamed creamy chocolate milk from Hartzler Family Dairy in Wooster speak for itself, only adding simple syrup to cut bitterness and espresso. It makes for a thick, rich, indulgent drink with the taste of the coffee coming through the pronounced chocolate flavor.
“You feel like it’s a melted chocolate bar,” King says. “It’s like magic.”
Its seasonal drinks can take days to devise, but the payoff comes in quirky monthly rotating menus like the Heavy Petal lineup starting in late March that people ask for year-round. The Buddy Brew ($5.50-$7) is a favorite and displays artisanal flair with a flower power syrup made from heating sugar, rosebuds and lavender in water to infuse it and straining out the blooms to capture a floral fragrance. That mingles with cold brew cut with oat milk for a creamy taste.
“When you’re making it … the smell bursts out,” King says. “It’s the essence of flower, so it’s sweet, smooth floral notes. … The drink makes me happy.”
While Walkie Talkie calls out to all Cantonites, its name specifically references adding a coffee shop you can walk to from the Logan neighborhood, which brings in several regulars. Walkie Talkie thanks them with neighbor nights in the warmer months where baristas mingle with customers over music, food truck fare and market vendors.
“They’ve accepted us,” King says, “and claimed the space as a neighborhood space.”
504 15th St. NW, Canton | walkietalkie.coffee
