Family-run Urban Sailor Coffee anchors new location in Park City

Tyler Anderson (middle), owner of Urban Sailor Coffee with sons Levi (left) and Archer (right). Photo: Urban Sailor Coffee

This family coffee venture went from sidecar to success - and now Park City is calling

PARK CITY, Utah — What started with a father and son serving espresso from a Russian sidecar motorcycle during the pandemic has evolved into one of Salt Lake City’s more distinctive coffee ventures – and now it’s expanding to Park City.

Urban Sailor Coffee plans to open its third location this spring in the former Ritual Chocolate space on Iron Horse Drive. At 2,000 square feet, it’s the family-run company’s largest undertaking yet.

“We started as a mobile coffee cart built on a motorcycle,” owner Tyler Anderson said. “We put walnut countertops on it, bought a handmade espresso machine from Italy, and started doing pop-up events downtown. It really took off.”

Today, Urban Sailor is truly a family fleet. Anderson’s son Archer, 25, who helped launch the business, is now a full partner and the face of the brand. Eldest son Levi, 28, serves as head roaster, while younger brothers Burton, 19, and Canon, 21, work as baristas.

The company’s nautical name stems from Anderson’s Seattle days, where he spent time on a friend’s sailboat-turned-houseboat on Lake Union. “We jokingly called ourselves urban sailors because it had a Volvo motor on the back, and we would unhook it and just drive around this little lake right by downtown Seattle,” he said.

Their approach to coffee sets them apart in Utah’s coffee scene. Urban Sailor specializes in Nordic-style roasting, a technique that uses a lighter roast to preserve the natural flavors of specialty beans. Anderson explains the difference by comparing it to steak preparation.

“I grew up with well-done steak and thought that’s just what steak was,” Anderson said. “Then I had my first medium steak in my 30s and was like, ‘holy cow, this tastes completely different.’ Coffee is very much the same way.”

While many traditional coffee shops use darker roasts that can mask the beans’ natural flavors, Urban Sailor sources high-scoring specialty coffees, often from regions like Ethiopia and Kenya. The beans are processed naturally, allowing the coffee cherry’s fruit to dry around the seed, creating more nuanced, fruity flavors.

“People often say, ‘I don’t know why, but this just tastes better than anything else I’ve ever had,'” Anderson said. “Or, ‘Wow, I’ve never been able to have coffee without adding a ton of cream and sugar.'”

The new space will feature visible roasting operations, leather Chesterfield chairs, and what Anderson describes as a “dark, moody” interior. While focusing primarily on coffee and local pastries, they’ll also offer grab-and-go items and their popular canned Nitro Cold Brew.

The Park City expansion was inspired by overwhelming demand during the 2021 Kimball Arts Festival. “We had this line of people 60 feet long for three days, and almost everybody that got to the front of the line and got their latte said, ‘Please, can you come and open a coffee shop?'” Anderson recalled.

Anderson believes Park City is the perfect port for their next venture. “We really felt like the typical Park City resident, whether they’re full time or part time, is our target market,” he said. “We’re not trying to be the bargain basement blow-out coffee place. We’re trying to be the place to get the really, really great coffee. We need to find people that really appreciate that, and Park City is full of those people.”

To learn more about Urban Sailor Coffee, visit their website.

 

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