Mountlake Terrace’s Triton Espresso closed because of an exploding pipe. Plans are in the works to re-open the coffee stand.

Standing in the lobby of Mountlake Terrace Hall, it looks as though most of the large Triton Espresso has just sprouted legs and walked away. There’s no sign of the thing that caused its disappearance – a burst pipe.

The massive amount of pressure built up in the pipe had caused it to rupture, flooding the first floor of Mountlake Terrace. The contents of the pipe were grey water, the water washed down sinks, rather than sewage. The water soaked into the counters, and the stand was no longer fit for use. It reportedly smelled horrible, and the building was forced to shut down for several days. The burst occurred on Halloween and the stand has since been closed indefinitely.

“It is our intention to re-open it, yes,” said Craig Schukar, the Director of Food Services at Edmonds. He, along with head barista Lisa Roche, prepare the baked goods offered at the Triton Espresso II every morning. Coffee and tea are offered at the stand, along with more specialized drinks, like Red Bull, Italian sodas and London fog (a tea latte). Coffee is sourced from a local company, Fulcrum. The stand has the ability to make just about everything but blended drinks (sorry, Frappuccino lovers).

The stand didn’t get up and move, but its employees did – many of them are now working at the smaller Triton Espresso II on the first floor of Mukilteo.  “We’d like our old stand back, please,” says an unnamed Triton Espresso employee. This seems to be a general consensus. The smaller Mukilteo location doesn’t have the space to hold all the larger stand’s offerings. It wasn’t built to function as the sole Triton Espresso. Only two students can be on shift at once, and it’s a tight fit. The location is somewhat out of the way for most students on campus, so fewer people know of the Triton II’s existence.

According to Schukar, the plan is to keep the new Mountlake Terrace Hall stand mostly the same, with a couple of upgrades. A glass pastry case would replace a plastic one, a new high-speed oven would be installed. The new case would include a dedicated spot to feature pastries made by the culinary arts students here at Edmonds Community College. Re-opening the stand will create new job opportunities for interested students.

Building a new stand isn’t without its obstacles. Unlike the bookstore, the Triton Espresso is part of the college, and its staff are college employees. The funding for the new coffee stand has to be approved by the College Board. Schukar reports that funding has been approved, but the school will need to get an electrical permit from the city first. After that, the design has to be approved by the Snohomish County Health Department, and then equipment and cabinets can be ordered.

An optimistic time line is for the stand to open this Fall Quarter. In the meantime, Triton Espresso II is open for business.