Q.E.D. Coffee Opens in Historic Burien Location
Local coffee chain Q.E.D. Coffee opened a new shop in Burien on February 23. The new location is housed in the historic Three Tree Point Store. This opening expands the Seattle-area company's presence.
- The building, which first opened in 1903, was Burien's first grocery store. In its early years, before roads served the area, it was accessible to residents primarily by steamboat. - Over its 120-plus-year history, the location has housed various businesses, including a butcher shop, a dive shop, a lending library, and a different coffee shop. - The property was purchased and restored in 2019 by owner Todd Manola. Its reopening as a commercial business in a residential zone was made possible by the "Legacy Storefronts Zoning Code Amendment" passed by the Burien City Council in February 2021. - The previous tenant, a business also called the Three Tree Point Store, was operated by Nelle Reichert from 2021 until it relocated to downtown Burien in August 2025, citing lease challenges. - Q.E.D. Coffee was founded by Matt Greenfield, who holds a bachelor's degree in pure mathematics from The Evergreen State College. - The name "Q.E.D." is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase *quod erat demonstrandum*, which means "that which was to be demonstrated" and is traditionally used to mark the end of a mathematical proof. - Founder Matt Greenfield started the company as a wholesale roasting operation in his West Seattle garage in 2014 before opening his first retail cafe in Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood in 2015. - The Burien cafe is Q.E.D. Coffee's third location, joining existing shops in Mount Baker and West Seattle.
