Fair Trade Cafe Debuts at Downtown Civic Space Park

Great news for the caffeine-deprived: Fair Trade Cafe, an indie coffee shop that specializes in hand-roasted, small-batch, certified fair trade coffee, is about to double its downtown presence by opening its second location tonight.

The original shop is just off the Roosevelt stop of the light rail (1020 N. 1st Ave.), while the new branch is just blocks away, at 424. N. Central -- it's the anchor tenant in the historic A. E. England building, which used to be a car dealership back in the 1920s. Now, it's part of the new Downtown Civic Space Park.

Tonight's the grand opening celebration from 6 to 10:30 p.m., with free swing dance lessons at 7 p.m. and a live performance by the Sugar Thieves (part of the regular Third Fridays Concert Series) at 7:30. There will also be a display of antique Hudson cars for visitors to check out on a self-guided tour of the restored building.