Alleycat Coffee House Is the CSU Study Hall on Laurel Street

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

10 min read

Golden autumn trees line Meridian Avenue on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins

Photo: Tim Hurst, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alleycat Coffee House sits at 120 1/2 W Laurel St A, close enough to Colorado State University that it reads less like a coffee shop with a college nearby and more like part of the walk to class. It is open 7am to midnight, a schedule that keeps the lights on long after most of the city's cafes have closed for the evening.

That combination, a Laurel Street address near CSU, hours that run to midnight, and a second floor study room, is why Visit Fort Collins and College Ave Mag both treat Alleycat as the CSU study hall. This post tells that story plainly, with the address, the hours, the study room and the local coverage that gave the cafe its reputation.

The Laurel Street Address

Alleycat's address, 120 1/2 W Laurel St A, places it inside the CSU and Laurel Street coffee district, a short walk from campus rather than a drive across town. The half number and the unit letter are part of the address, and they matter for anyone plugging it into a phone on the way over.

Laurel Street runs along the edge of the Colorado State University campus, and the stretch nearest campus has its own rhythm, shaped by class schedules, exam weeks and the steady movement of students between buildings. A coffee house on that stretch is part of that rhythm whether it plans to be or not.

That is a different setting from Old Town's College Avenue corridor a few blocks away, where cafes sit among shops, restaurants and hotel traffic. Fort Collins has room for both kinds of coffee street, and Laurel is the one built around a university.

Open 7am to Midnight

Alleycat's hours, 7am to midnight, are the detail most people remember. Seventeen hours a day covers the early class crowd, the midday gap between lectures and the long evening stretch when group projects and problem sets actually get done.

Hours that late are unusual across Fort Collins coffee generally. Many cafes in the city close by early evening, built around a morning and midday rush. A room that stays open until midnight is answering a different question: where can I sit and keep working after dinner?

For a student planning a late session, that question matters more than almost anything on a menu. A cafe that is still open at 11pm, a few minutes from campus, is the answer the College Ave Mag and Visit Fort Collins descriptions point to.

The Second Floor Study Room

Beyond the address and the hours, Alleycat has a second floor study room, a space set apart from the main floor. That is the amenity the study hall label rests on, and it is the reason the cafe is described in terms of studying rather than simply in terms of coffee.

A separate upstairs room gives a student somewhere quieter than the counter and the main seating, which is useful for anyone who needs to read, write or prepare for an exam rather than grab a quick cup between classes.

Put together, the address, the hours and the study room describe a coffee house built around one clear use. That clarity is what two separate local publications picked up on when they wrote about it.

Why Visit Fort Collins and College Ave Mag Call It the Study Hall

Visit Fort Collins, the city's visitor bureau, and College Ave Mag, a local publication focused on college life, both describe Alleycat as the CSU study hall. That is a specific kind of praise. It says the cafe fills a particular role in student life, not just that it serves a good drink.

Visit Fort Collins also includes Alleycat on its coziest coffee shops list, alongside Bindle, Harbinger, Lima and Little Bird. A visitor bureau list is written for people deciding where to spend an afternoon in the city, so being named there puts Alleycat in front of travelers as well as students.

A reputation built on concrete facts, an address, a closing time and a physical study room, tends to hold up better than a vague best of mention. It tells a reader exactly what the place is for and exactly who it suits.

Named on Local Coffee Lists

Alleycat also appears on My Coffee Explorer's list of the 12 best coffee shops in Fort Collins, a guide updated on September 3, 2026. That list names twelve local cafes, among them Alleycat, Lima, Mugs, Harbinger, Bindle and Little Bird, so Alleycat sits in a broad field of Fort Collins independents.

Being named by a visitor bureau, a college publication and an independent coffee guide means three different audiences have met the cafe through three different doors: travelers, students and coffee enthusiasts reading roundups.

Each of those sources does its own job. The visitor bureau sells the city, the college magazine speaks to students and the coffee guide speaks to people who plan trips around cafes. Alleycat shows up in all three.

Part of a Larger Laurel Street District

Alleycat does not sit alone on Laurel Street. Mugs runs a cafe at 306 W Laurel St, so the CSU and Laurel corridor supports more than one coffee option within walking distance of campus. Two cafes on the same short street reflect the size of the student population around them.

Each room has its own address and its own hours, and a student can pick whichever suits the day. Alleycat's own place in that district is defined by the details its coverage keeps returning to: the midnight close and the upstairs study room.

The same pattern shows up across Fort Collins, where independent cafes each hold a specific part of the city. Laurel Street is the CSU corridor, and Alleycat is the cafe that local writers have tied to studying.

An Independent Room Near Campus

Alleycat is not part of Colorado State University. It is not a campus dining hall or a university run study space. It is an independent coffee house that sits near campus and has earned its study hall reputation through its location, its hours and its upstairs room.

That independence matters to how the reputation should be read. A student choosing Alleycat over a campus building is choosing a coffee house with long hours and a room set aside for work, and local publications noticed that choice often enough to put a name to it.

Fort Collins is home to a major public university, and that shapes the city's coffee map. Laurel Street is where the effect is easiest to see.

How Alleycat Fits Fort Collins' Wider Coffee Map

Fort Collins spreads its coffee scene across several distinct districts: CSU and Laurel, Old Town and College Avenue, Walnut Street, Campus West, Midtown Mason, Jessup Farm, Harmony Road south of downtown and the west side toward Laporte Avenue. Alleycat belongs to the first of these.

That district view explains why hours to midnight make sense on Laurel Street in a way they might not on Harmony Road, where the surrounding neighborhoods are more residential and commuter driven. A few blocks from campus, late hours meet late demand.

The city itself is large enough to support that kind of specialization. Fort Collins had 169,705 residents in the American Community Survey 2023 five year estimate, and it holds roughly sixteen independent specialty cafes and roasters within city limits.

Coffee on Both Sides of Campus

Laurel Street is one edge of the Colorado State University campus, but it is not the only coffee district that serves students. On the far side of campus, Campus West has its own cafes, including Lima Coffee Roasters at 1129 W Elizabeth St, closer to the student housing on that side of the university.

That split matters for anyone who lives or studies near CSU. A student whose classes and apartment sit on the Laurel side has a short walk to 120 1/2 W Laurel St A or to Mugs at 306 W Laurel St. A student on the Elizabeth Street side has a different short walk. The campus sits between two coffee districts, not beside one.

Old Town, with its College Avenue cafes, sits a few blocks away from Laurel as well. For a student with an afternoon free, all three districts are within reach, but the one open until midnight, with a study room upstairs, is on Laurel Street.

What Local Coverage Says About Fort Collins Coffee

Alleycat's recognition sits inside a wider pattern of local coverage. The Coloradoan, the city's daily newspaper, keeps a cozy coffee roundup that was updated in March 2026. Roast Local published a Fort Collins coffee guide in April 2026. What's Happenin' FoCo ran a 2026 community vote on local coffee shops.

That is a lot of attention for one city's coffee scene, and it tells a newcomer something useful: Fort Collins coffee is covered by a visitor bureau, a newspaper, local guides and a community vote site, all within the same year.

Inside that coverage, Alleycat's specific identity is easy to find. Visit Fort Collins and College Ave Mag describe it as the study hall, and My Coffee Explorer includes it among its twelve Fort Collins picks. For a student or a visitor reading any of those sources, the Laurel Street cafe with the midnight close is the one tied to studying.

A Late Evening on Laurel Street

The value of a room open until midnight is easiest to see in the evening. By nine or ten at night, most of the city's coffee counters have closed, and a student looking for somewhere to keep working has fewer choices than at noon.

On Laurel Street, a few minutes from campus, Alleycat is still open, and the second floor study room is still there. That is the practical answer the study hall label gives to anyone who needs a late table near CSU.

None of this requires exaggeration. The address is 120 1/2 W Laurel St A, the hours are 7am to midnight and the study room is upstairs. Those three facts explain why two local publications landed on the same description.

One Cafe, One Clear Story

There is real value in a coffee house having a story this easy to tell accurately. Alleycat is not trying to be everything to everyone across Fort Collins. Its story is specific: a Laurel Street cafe near CSU, open late, with a place upstairs to study.

That clarity helps students, visitors and anyone writing about Fort Collins coffee. A cafe known as the CSU study hall is easy to recommend correctly and easy to remember.

For anyone new to the city, the short version is simple. Near campus and need to work late? Head to 120 1/2 W Laurel St A before midnight. Need coffee before an early class? The doors open at 7am, so the first lecture of the day is covered too, and the study room upstairs is there for the hours in between.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Alleycat Coffee House?

Alleycat Coffee House is at 120 1/2 W Laurel St A in Fort Collins, in the CSU and Laurel Street coffee district a short walk from the Colorado State University campus. The half number and the unit letter A are both part of the address, which helps when entering it into a map. Mugs also runs a room on the same street at 306 W Laurel St.

What are Alleycat's hours?

Alleycat is open 7am to midnight, which adds up to seventeen hours a day. That schedule covers early classes, the midday gap between lectures and the long evening stretch when students study. Many Fort Collins cafes close by early evening, so a room still open at 11pm near campus on Laurel Street stands out on the city's coffee map.

Does Alleycat have a study room?

Yes. Alleycat has a second floor study room, set apart from the main floor seating. It is the amenity behind the study hall reputation that Visit Fort Collins and College Ave Mag describe. Paired with hours that run to midnight, the upstairs room gives students near the Colorado State University campus a quieter place to read, write or prepare for exams.

Who calls Alleycat the CSU study hall?

Two local publications describe Alleycat that way: Visit Fort Collins, the city's visitor bureau, and College Ave Mag, a local publication focused on college life. Both tie the label to the same concrete details, a Laurel Street address at 120 1/2 W Laurel St A, hours from 7am to midnight and a second floor study room for students who need space to work.

Which local coffee lists name Alleycat?

Visit Fort Collins includes Alleycat on its coziest coffee shops list alongside Bindle, Harbinger, Lima and Little Bird. My Coffee Explorer also names Alleycat on its list of the 12 best coffee shops in Fort Collins, a guide updated September 3, 2026. That puts the cafe in front of visitors, students and coffee travelers reading local roundups.

Is Alleycat part of Colorado State University?

No. Alleycat is an independent coffee house, not a university facility or campus dining space. Its close tie to student life comes from where it sits, 120 1/2 W Laurel St A near campus, from hours that run 7am to midnight and from its second floor study room. The study hall label was given by Visit Fort Collins and College Ave Mag.

Is Alleycat the only coffee shop on Laurel Street near CSU?

No. Mugs runs a room at 306 W Laurel St, so the CSU and Laurel corridor has more than one coffee option within walking distance of campus. Each room keeps its own address and hours. Alleycat sits at 120 1/2 W Laurel St A and is the one local publications describe as the study hall, open until midnight.

Which Fort Collins district is Alleycat in?

Alleycat is in the CSU and Laurel district, one of eight coffee districts across Fort Collins. The others are Old Town and College Avenue, Walnut Street, Campus West, Midtown Mason, Jessup Farm, Harmony Road south and the west side toward Laporte Avenue. Laurel Street is the corridor shaped most by Colorado State University and its student calendar.

Is Fort Collins big enough for a late night study cafe?

Yes. Fort Collins had 169,705 residents in the American Community Survey 2023 five year estimate and is home to Colorado State University. The city holds roughly sixteen independent specialty cafes and roasters, spread across eight districts. That scale supports a room like Alleycat, open 7am to midnight on Laurel Street, built around students who work late.

How can a Fort Collins cafe tell a story as clear as Alleycat's?

Alleycat's reputation rests on three plain facts, an address at 120 1/2 W Laurel St A, hours from 7am to midnight and a second floor study room, and two local publications picked those up. Any cafe can gather its own facts on one clear page. Hillcane helps Fort Collins cafes build those pages at hillcane.co/contact or (256) 384-2449.

Work with Hillcane

Open until midnight with a second floor study room on Laurel Street, Alleycat Coffee House is not just near CSU, local writers call it the campus study hall.

If your Fort Collins cafe has a real, specific story like this one worth telling clearly, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.