Helm Coffee: The Weekly Wave #08
Welcome to The Weekly Wave, a weekly newsletter highlighting the amazing local coffee shops in Indianapolis. This week, we're talking about Helm Coffee Company in Garfield Park!
What we love about Helm Coffee Company
Welcome back to The Weekly Wave! I honestly don’t even know where to start this week because we’re talking about Helm Coffee Company in Garfield Park. If you’ve been to Helm, you know what I mean when I ask: how do you sum them up using human words? If you haven’t been to Helm, you’ll soon know what I mean.
For starters, Helm Coffee started as a roaster and that’s the main driver behind the business. To support the roasting, the space is open as a café Thursday through Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm. Because they focus on roasting first, you know you are in for a treat when you get their coffees—by the bag or the glass—because they really, really care about what they do.
The Helm team has a serious passion for Indy, coffee, and their community, and that all shows through how they make specialty coffee approachable and accessible to the community.
There’s so much to talk about with Helm, so we’ll try to hit all the big points. Then you’ll just have to go visit them and find the rest out for yourself!
Amenities
Glass jar program!
Right near Garfield Park
Right on the IndyGo line
On a bike lane!
Coffee subscriptions available
Lots of community events
A solid space for community
Women and LGBTQ+ owned
What to order
You know what I’m going to say, right? Everything is good at Helm, so you can’t go wrong with whatever you order.
They keep a really well-curated menu that isn’t overwhelming with options, and the staff is super great with guiding you toward the perfect drink for you.
My go-to is always a pour-over of some sort, whatever the barista recommends usually. They serve it up in sweet mugs to stay or glass jars(!) to go.
Glass jars! Instead of traditional paper or plastic cups, Helm serves their to-go drinks in glass jars just like Amberson! The first time you grab a drink from Helm, you’ll buy a jar as part of your order. Then, you bring your glass jar back, get a new drink, and you get a new glass jar. It’s the new circle of life, and we love to see it.
A huge step to one day not having to say “traditional” paper or plastic cups.
Where to find Helm Coffee Company
2324 Shelby Street
Indianapolis, IN 46203
Hours:
Mon-Wed: Closed
Thurs-Sun: 8am - 2pm
Find Helm Coffee Company:
Website: helmcoffeeroasters.com
Instagram: @helmcoffeeroasters
The Community at Helm
This is where I could talk for 100 years about how amazing Helm is, but I’ll try to keep it somewhat in check. Well…maybe. We’ll see.
Community programming
Helm is only open a few days a week, but they always have something going on. Their Instagram is the best place to keep up with all of their events (@helmcoffeeroasters), but we’ll highlight a few here.
Weekly pilates and yoga: Helm typically has a workout class or two a week! Health & wellness are super important, and they love sharing that with the community.
New Mama Support Group: They host weekly (and sometimes more frequent) programming for new mamas and untraditional parents. They even have a separate Instagram dedicated to all of their parental programming! Follow: @mamasatthehelm
Pop-ups: They always have fun pop-ups going on, like Salamat! cookies, live music, and so much more
Who knows?? When you run a true community space, lots of things pop up. There is always a lot of energy and movement going on at Helm.
The LGBTQ+ community
Helm is owned by Jillion Potter and her wife Carol Fabrizio. They are both bad*ss women who fiercely advocate for their community—especially the LGBTQ+ community. Helm is a fiercely safe space for everyone, and that tenant is rooted in everything they do.
The Mama community
As I mentioned above, Jill and her wife Carol are moms, so they literally know how hard, amazing, and rewarding it is out there for mamas and untraditional parents. They offer regular programming through @mamasatthehelm because they know how important it is to be a resource and safe space for all mamas.
The coffee community & Team Indy Coffee
If I haven’t made it clear enough already, the Helm team really, really cares about the coffee they roast and serve. They are proud members of Team Indy Coffee, and they are constantly working to better their coffee as a craft through training and competitions. Make sure to follow along with their adventures in coffee on Instagram: @team.indycoffee
Everything we love about Helm
Sooooo yeah. That’s just a small look into everything we love about Helm Coffee in Garfield Park! I’m sure I’m missing some other important details (we didn’t even talk about how Jill was the captain of the 2016 USA Olympic women's rugby sevens team!), so you’re just going to have to head to Helm and find out everything else for yourself. I promise you won’t regret it!
OUR INCREDIBLE SPONSORS
IndyPL's Adult Summer Reading Program: NOW - July 29
Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW HOW MUCH WE LOVE THE LIBRARY, which is just one reason why I am so stoked to talk about their summer reading program FOR ADULTS. THAT'S US.
Unlike in elementary school, you can read ANYTHING this summer—you know, like Batch or this newsletter! The more you read, the more tickets you get to enter to win huge prizes at the end of the program. We're talking huge coffee prizes, stays at Bottleworks, and a ton of other stuff.
I love the library so much 😭 Head to the link above to learn more and to sign up on the Beanstack app. It took me all of 2 minutes.
Currently reading: The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins and The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, as well as some newsletters and magazines
Just finished reading: Love That Story by Jonathan Van Ness and An Honest Man by Ben Fergusson.
Up next to read: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, Heartstopper 3 & 4 by Alice Oseman, and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree.
The Weekly Wave is made possible thanks to our amazing sponsors & partners. If you’d like to support the Indianapolis Coffee Guide and get your logo in our newsletter, you can learn more about Weekly Wave sponsorships.