As of this month, there are three more reasons to head to the the Rayback Collective in North Boulder: a new cocktail program, a coffee shop, and the recently relocated Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha tap room.

First and foremost: The bar at the one-year-old food truck park is finally offering liquor. The Rayback is serving draft cocktails, all crafted in-house with fresh-squeezed juices and locally distilled spirits such as Boulder’s Suerte tequila and gin from Lyons’ Spirit Hound Distillers. Manager Alana Koenig, who spearheaded the program, said that drinks will be rotated out as kegs empty, meaning patrons can expect to find surprises with every new visit. The draft cocktails debuted with creative takes on the whiskey sour, Moscow mule, and margarita, all ranging from $8 to $10.

The Rayback Collective’s bar and coffee counter. Photo by Haley Gray.

For your morning beverage needs, Carabiner Coffee, the #vanlife manifestation of coffee shops, has embarked on the soft launch of its first brick-and-mortar location inside the Rayback space. Carabiner began as a mobile coffee company in 2014, delivering freshly brewed java by way of a blue ‘71 Volkswagen van. The company has now set up shop on the west leg of the L-shaped bar with coffee drinks, locally roasted beans, and house-made pastries. These, plus the ample selection of tables and couches, makes the Rayback a great venue for cranking out some work on your laptop. For now, Carabiner opens at 11 a.m., but look for earlier hours to begin sometime in October.

Last but certainly not least is the new Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha tap room location inside the Rayback. After relocating its production facility to a larger space in March, the Boulder ‘bucha brewer was without a public-facing tap room until finding its new home at the Rayback. Now, you can enjoy a glass of bubbly fermented tea with your meal or get a growler to take home.

“With all these different components, I think Rowdy is just the cherry on top,” co-founder Hank Grant says.


2775 Valmont Road, Boulder, 303-214-2127

Haley Gray
Haley Gray
Haley Gray is a Boulder-based freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in 5280, Roads and Kingdoms, Boulder Magazine, and the Albuquerque Journal.