There’s a place in Seattle where Firefly, Steampunk, Tabletop gaming, and computer programming unite with the universal trait of the rainy city: a love of coffee. Wayward Coffeehouse in the Roosevelt neighborhood is a self-described “independent coffee haven for geeks” and the line is suitable. On my last visit to the Evergreen State, I had whittled out a special afternoon to visit the shop after hearing about it on the internet years before as being the home of the Seattle Browncoats, a fan group dedicated to the love of all things Firefly/Serenity (for those of you who don’t perhaps know already, I personally identify as a Browncoat). Stepping inside, I knew I’d found a new home.

Given the small number of episodes, it still baffles me the level of detail Joss Whedon put into the dynamic world of the series. It has been through this artistic lens which rabid fans have continued the legacy of what was the ‘verse. As such, there are a number of wonderfully unique crafted articles available in the marketplace, should you have the desire to look. As such, if you gave someone in the fandom carte blanche to decorate as they pleased using these resources, I feel that something like this place would be the result.

Not only is the place adorned with commercially available materials such as the flag of the Rebellion, you’ve got the beautiful hand-painted logo of Serenity as well as multiple yarncraft delights (the register frog looks pretty cunning, don’t ya think?). But, even beyond the level of rebel spirit that permeates the coffee house, there’s also a sense of welcoming for geeks of all sorts.

The bookshelves scattered throughout have a vast collection of sci-fi and fantasy, and you’re just as likely to find a Captain Jean-Luc Picard bobblehead as you are plastic dinosaurs. The location is used as a meetup for groups ranging from the Seattle Browncoats to the Seattle Steamrats to Creative Geek Society to a javascript developer group to various writer’s and tabletop groups. They host gaming nights, jazz, movie nights, and special events (the Doubleclicks had fairly recently passed through when I’d stopped in last). The entire point is that all sorts of nerds are invited, no geek cred proof needed.

Then again, if you want to prove your geekworthiness, you can take the challenge of their specials board. Some of them are pretty obvious, but then you have more obscure references to novels or TV shows you may not have gotten around to watching. All of their coffee is delightful, though, as you must expect from a coffeehouse that’s continued to do business in what most Americans consider the Mecca for coffee drinkers (I wholeheartedly suggest the Polgara Mocha). It’s all 100% organic and fair trade, as is their milk. They also choose to bring in food from local vendors and use real ingredients (such as real Eggnog in their seasonal lattes, as their website points out). Now, a note for you carnivorous folks. The place is vegetarian, and it also caters to vegans, so know that one going in. Don’t expect to be able to grab a turkey club like you might at your local coffee shop. Regardless, even being a touch too far on the meat eater side myself, the food was quite delicious. But, being a Midwesterner, I still get a little thrown when a place specifically doesn’t have meat available at all.

Wayward Coffeehouse is open every day of the year (with special hours on holidays), and they’re open late most of the time. You can find them at 6417 Roosevelt Way NE #104 in Seattle, Washington from 6 am to 11 pm Monday through Friday and 7 am to 11 pm on the weekend. You can also check out their website, Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter.