Caffeinated

I.V. Coffee Lab closed its Incline Village cafe in November to pass on ownership to Drink Coffee Do Stuff. The DCDS cafe is now open for business.

Former I.V. Coffee Lab owners, Ally and Matt Thralls had owned and operated the local coffee shop for over seven years and decided that it was time to focus on their family. DCDS had already been roasting for I.V., making the transition easier. While the location is now owned by Laura and Nick Visconti, the coffee will be the same, and all the former I.V. crew will be staying—including the Thralls’s who will be working in the shop from time to time.

“It’s a different space, different vibe, but the community-oriented element with people who are enriching to Incline Village is never going to leave,” Nick Visconti said. “I think people can feel secure that we are still their local coffee shop.”

Remodeling of the location began in late November. It received an all new look, complete with a ski chair next to the DCDS logo on one of the walls. There were some minor adjustments to the coffee program, but the addition of food is one of the bigger changes. The coffee shop now offers grab-and-go style foods that are long lasting, protein rich and sustainable, according to Visconti.

Barista and Sierra Nevada College student Drake Fiske started working at I.V. in April before the transition to DCDS.

“I was a little hesitant and worried at first,” Fiske said. “But now that I see Nick and Laura being involved in Incline Village and being very personable with the regulars, it makes me excited for where DCDS is going into the future.”

Fiske hopes to work with DCDS for some time and eventually make a career out of coffee. He urges customers to look out for new specialty drinks that will be coming out every few months.

The DCDS brand started two years ago and was inspired by Nick Visconti’s experiences through his 10-year professional snowboarding career. During his travels, Visconti fell in love with coffee culture and the Swiss Alps. One day, when Visconti was doing a photo-shoot on the glacier Saas-Fee, his day largely consisted of caffeine breaks between riding. During this same time, he was being recruited by energy drink companies for sponsorships.

“I just couldn’t get into the artificial thing,” Visconti said. “I got really into coffee as a fuel source for propelling people’s active lifestyle.”

Visconti wanted to create DCDS as an experience of coffee and lifestyle fused into each other. There are many lifestyle brands and “fuel” gear, but he saw a place for coffee that wasn’t actively being pursued in the market of active, outdoorsy people.

The brand’s coffee is grown in mountains around the world and then gets roasted in Truckee. DCDS believes that high altitude roasting allows them to consistently make coffee that is more sweet, instead of bitter. Visconti believes their most popular blend, is a medium roast called, “Hell Yeah!” It’s also his personal favorite. Their coffee can be found in grocery stores all over Northern California.

“I hope the locals give this new shop a chance even though it is a lot different from I.V.,” Fiske said. “We are all here not only for the community, but to help people fuel up on coffee and healthy on-the-go foods for a kick-ass day.”

Visconti plans to open up more cafes around the lake in the future.