Local Coffee and Food, Served with Heart

This family-owned-and-operated gem developed a buzz as a gleaming mobile café before moving into a nearby brick-and-mortar shop in Mountlake Terrace in late 2024.
Every so often you walk into a place that makes you feel, in the best of ways, like a guest in someone’s home. Every detail and carefully chosen item feels like an extension of the owner’s passion and values. You’re welcomed as a friend. SKOG Haus, owned by Heather and Dave Skogerson, is that kind of place.
The dream sprang from their love of community and the Pacific Northwest — and the need for a walkable gathering spot in North Seattle with great local coffee, tea, and food. They ordered a striking vintage Airstream replica trailer tricked out as a mobile café and set up in the parking lot of Local 104 in Lake Forest Park in 2021. Along with training classes and lots of practice, their nephew worked with them to create their signature drinks and help hone their craft. The illuminated word COFFEE on the roof beckoned. Word of mouth spread — lines soon followed.
In late 2024, when the right space, about five minutes away in Mountlake Terrace, became available, Heather and Dave made the leap to a permanent space. The interior is warm and inviting with tables inside and out to linger. The Airstream, which they sold, is outlined on the back wall and the bar is clad in stainless steel, à la the classic trailer. Behind the bar, you’ll nearly always find either Heather or Dave, along with their son Finn and three other crew members who are like family. Heather’s mom helps one day a week, too.

Four symbols tucked inside the SKOG Haus logo guide every decision: Origin (mountains, sea, forest), Intention (love and peace in action), Community (customers, neighbors, partners), and Care (for planet and people). Their mission: Change the world through coffee.
Everything they sell comes from small Northwest businesses: Macrina pastries; coffee roasted by the Torres family at Bellingham Coffee Roasters; organic chai, matcha, and loose-leaf teas from woman-owned Metolius Tea in Bend; syrups and chocolate sauce from Holy Kakow in Sisters; an espresso machine hand-built in south Seattle by their friend Michael Myers of MAVAM; cups made from sugar-cane fiber.
“I feel that what our partners have created pairs beautifully with that of the other partners,” says Heather. “Each small choice we all make is doing something to change the world for the better.”
This is a coffee house that makes you feel good about your choice of where to spend your money.

Nothing is automatic at SKOG Haus. Beans are freshly ground for every shot and the espresso is drawn by hand. Customers are greeted with a smile. “Everything that we do is old school,” says Heather. “Which makes it more intentional, and we love it that way. You hear the grinder, you smell the beans, you hear the milk steaming. It’s that whole idea of slow coffee — not that the wait is long, but that we stay present with the person in front of us.”
Kindness is best shared, and SKOG Haus has it in spades. The shop is a three-minute walk from the Mountlake Terrace light-rail stop, with ample parking if you come by car. Grab coffee and a pastry to go, or better yet, slow down, stay awhile, and enjoy the vibe. You’ll be glad you did. The world outside can wait.
Visit their website for hours and location.