Tacoma Coffee on Hilltop's 11th Street and on Jefferson Avenue

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Streetcar stopped at the Hilltop District T Line station in Tacoma on a rainy afternoon

Photo: SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Manifesto Coffee sits at 1003 S 11th St, Tacoma, WA 98405, on the same street as the Hilltop District stop on Sound Transit's T Line at South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Naomi Joe Coffee Roasters keeps its cafe inside 7 Seas Brewing at 2101 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402. Two addresses, two streets, two ZIP codes, and one question for anyone planning a coffee run on this side of Tacoma: which street am I actually going to?

This guide answers it by address. It walks 11th Street and Jefferson Avenue one at a time, adds the transit line that now runs up the hill, and sets out the posted hours and published descriptions that tell a visitor what each room is like. Tacoma is a city of 220,482 people in the Census Bureau's 2023 five year American Community Survey, and its coffee is spread across many neighborhoods. This post stays on these two streets.

Everything here comes from the cafes' own pages, Visit Pierce County's November 10, 2025 coffee guide and Sound Transit's own announcements, read on September 27, 2026. Where a cafe keeps its hours on its social account rather than a page I could read, I say so and point there.

Two Streets, Two ZIP Codes

The first thing to notice about these addresses is the ZIP code. 1003 S 11th St is in 98405. 2101 Jefferson Ave is in 98402. That small difference tells a driver something useful: the two cafes sit on different streets in different postal zones, and a map pin dropped on the word Hilltop will not tell you which one you are heading to.

South 11th Street runs through the Hilltop neighborhood and meets Martin Luther King Jr. Way at the new light rail stop. Jefferson Avenue is the street where Visit Pierce County places a coffeehouse that serves students of the University of Washington Tacoma campus. Both sit in the Hilltop and Jefferson pocket, and both are worth a trip, but they are separate stops.

The practical habit is simple. Type the full street address, not the neighborhood, and check that the ZIP code matches the room you want.

1003 S 11th St

Manifesto Coffee's address is 1003 S 11th St, Tacoma, WA 98405. The cafe's own description promises metal music vibes and friendly staff, which sets the tone before you walk in.

Visit Pierce County, the county's tourism office, included Manifesto in its November 10, 2025 guide to the top coffee shops in Tacoma and the South Puget Sound. The guide describes a minimalist, industrial cafe in the Hilltop neighborhood and calls it a hangout for young creatives and gamers, with plenty of space to work on a laptop or bring a favorite board game.

That description makes 11th Street a good address for a long visit rather than a quick pickup. A laptop session, a board game with friends or a slow afternoon all fit what the county's guide describes. For current hours, Manifesto's Instagram account, @manifesto_coffee, is the place to check before you go.

The T Line Stop at South 11th

The biggest recent change on 11th Street is the light rail. Sound Transit's Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension opened to passengers on September 16, 2023. The extension runs 2.4 miles, more than doubling the length of the T Line, and adds seven stations.

One of them is Hilltop District, at South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The others, in Sound Transit's list, are St. Joseph, south of South 17th Street on the same avenue; 6th Avenue, at Martin Luther King Jr. Way; Tacoma General, at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital; Stadium District, at North 1st Street and North G Street; South 4th, at South Stadium Way; and Old City Hall, on Commerce Street north of South 7th Street. At opening, Sound Transit said trains would run about every 12 minutes at peak times Monday through Saturday, and every 20 minutes off peak and on Sundays.

Sound Transit held the opening celebration at the Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center, 1105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, by the Hilltop District station. For a coffee run, the stop at South 11th means 11th Street can be reached without a car, from downtown or from the Stadium District.

2101 Jefferson Ave, Inside 7 Seas Brewing

Naomi Joe Coffee Roasters keeps its Tacoma cafe inside 7 Seas Brewing at 2101 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402. The cafe's own visit page posts its hours plainly: open daily, 8 AM to 5 PM. That is every day of the week, which makes Jefferson Avenue a dependable weekend stop.

The same page describes a communal space with room to work, meet friends or take a midday break, and it describes the cafe as the best place to try everything Naomi Joe has to offer. Its tagline elsewhere on its own page is Modern Coffee For All.

The setting is the detail to remember. This is a coffee counter inside a brewery, so the thing to look for on Jefferson Avenue is 7 Seas Brewing at 2101, not a freestanding coffee storefront. 7 Seas lists two taprooms on its own page, this one on Jefferson Avenue and a second at 2905 Harborview Dr in Gig Harbor, which is outside Tacoma. The brewery's page also invites customers to call either taproom to preorder cans, growlers and crowlers for pickup, a reminder that the building serves two kinds of regulars, and that the coffee counter keeps its own posted daytime schedule.

Jefferson Avenue and the Campus Blocks

Jefferson Avenue has a second coffee address, at 1901. Visit Pierce County's guide names Metro Coffee at 1901 Jefferson Ave #B, Tacoma, WA 98402, and says the little coffeehouse has catered to students of the UW Tacoma campus since 2004.

The county's description is specific: bicycles adorning the walls, a small seating area suited to quiet conversation, and a bench area for study groups. The guide sums it up as a great place to work that has been around for more than 20 years. Metro Coffee keeps its current hours on its Instagram, @metrocoffeetacoma.

With 1901 and 2101 Jefferson Ave on the same street, Jefferson Avenue works as a two stop coffee run of its own, separate from 11th Street.

Planning a Coffee Run Between the Two Streets

Because the addresses sit on different streets, a Hilltop coffee run is best planned as a choice or a sequence, not a single stop. For a morning start on any day of the week, 2101 Jefferson Ave posts an 8 AM opening, seven days a week. For a long afternoon with a laptop or a board game, 1003 S 11th St is the room Visit Pierce County describes for exactly that.

On transit, the T Line's Hilltop District station at South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way puts 11th Street within reach of the rest of the line. Jefferson Avenue is the street Visit Pierce County ties to the UW Tacoma campus.

It also helps to know who shares the neighborhood. Wikipedia's Hilltop article lists the historic Tacoma Public Library main branch, Bates Technical College and the Pierce County Courthouse on Hilltop's east side, and it names Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and St Joseph Medical Center among the neighborhood's health care institutions. The T Line reflects that, with stations named St. Joseph and Tacoma General, the second at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital. A coffee run on 11th Street can fit around a library visit, a class at Bates or an appointment up the line, and a Jefferson Avenue stop fits around a day on the UW Tacoma campus. The addresses stay the same; only the reason for the trip changes.

Either way, the rule from the first section holds. Use the full street address with its ZIP code, 98405 for 11th Street and 98402 for Jefferson Avenue, and check each cafe's own posted hours or social account on the day.

Where Hilltop Fits on Tacoma's Coffee Map

Hilltop is one neighborhood among many in Tacoma's coffee geography. Hillcane's Tacoma hub post lays out 6th Avenue, the Stadium District, downtown, South Tacoma Way, McKinley, the North End and Old Town alongside Hilltop, and a separate post explains why Proctor sits outside the independent map.

The T Line ties several of those together. Its 6th Avenue station at Martin Luther King Jr. Way is named for the 6th Avenue corridor, its Stadium District station at North 1st Street and North G Street serves the Stadium District, and Old City Hall serves the downtown blocks. A visitor can ride between neighborhoods on one line and make Hilltop one stop on a longer coffee day.

Hillcane's 7 Seas post covers the Jefferson Avenue cafe alongside a downtown cafe on Broadway Plaza, and it is the place to read more about the coffee counter inside the brewery.

Where Hilltop Begins and Ends

It helps to know where Hilltop's edges are. The National Register of Historic Places, as summarized in Wikipedia's article on the neighborhood, places Hilltop within Tacoma bounded by Tacoma Avenue South on the east, Division Avenue on the north, Sprague Avenue on the west, and the edge of the bluff, roughly South 27th Street, on the south. The neighborhood takes its name from that high bluff overlooking Commencement Bay and the Port of Tacoma.

By that definition, 1003 S 11th St sits inside Hilltop, and Jefferson Avenue sits just east of its Tacoma Avenue South edge, closer to the UW Tacoma campus and downtown. That is why these posts treat the two as a Hilltop and Jefferson pocket rather than one street: they are neighbors, but Jefferson Avenue is the downhill side of the line.

The same article notes that the T Line runs through Hilltop on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between Division Avenue and South 19th Street, connecting the neighborhood to the Stadium District and downtown, and that Hilltop is home to the Evergreen State College's Tacoma campus and adjoins the Stadium District. Knowing those edges keeps a coffee plan honest about which side of the line each address is on.

An Address First Neighborhood

Hilltop rewards precision. Say 1003 S 11th St and you are on Hilltop's 11th Street, near the T Line stop at South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Say 2101 Jefferson Ave and you are at 7 Seas Brewing, looking for the coffee counter inside. Say 1901 Jefferson Ave #B and you are at a coffeehouse Visit Pierce County ties to the UW Tacoma campus since 2004.

None of those is hard to find once the street and ZIP code are right. National drive thru chains are not part of this picture; Dutch Bros has no Tacoma city page on its own locator, with its nearest stands in cities such as Fife, Lakewood and Puyallup. On Hilltop and Jefferson Avenue, the street decides the coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Manifesto Coffee on Hilltop in Tacoma?

Manifesto Coffee is at 1003 S 11th St, Tacoma, WA 98405, in the Hilltop neighborhood. The nearest T Line stop is Hilltop District, at South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, which opened with the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension on September 16, 2023. For current hours, the cafe's Instagram account, @manifesto_coffee, is the place to check on the day.

Where is Naomi Joe's Tacoma cafe and when is it open?

Naomi Joe Coffee Roasters keeps its Tacoma cafe inside 7 Seas Brewing at 2101 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402. Its own visit page posts hours of 8 AM to 5 PM, open daily, so it serves every day of the week. Look for the 7 Seas Brewing building on Jefferson Avenue rather than a separate coffee storefront with its own sign.

Are 11th Street and Jefferson Avenue the same part of Hilltop?

No. They are different streets with different ZIP codes, and by the National Register boundary Hilltop ends at Tacoma Avenue South, just west of Jefferson Avenue. Manifesto Coffee at 1003 S 11th St is in 98405, on the same street as the South 11th T Line stop. The cafe inside 7 Seas Brewing at 2101 Jefferson Ave is in 98402, on the avenue Visit Pierce County ties to the UW Tacoma campus.

Can I take light rail to Hilltop for coffee?

Yes. Sound Transit's T Line added a Hilltop District station at South 11th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way when its 2.4 mile Hilltop extension opened on September 16, 2023. The extension added seven stations, including 6th Avenue, Stadium District and Old City Hall. At opening, trains ran about every 12 minutes at peak times and every 20 minutes off peak.

Is Manifesto Coffee a good place to work or play games?

Visit Pierce County's November 10, 2025 coffee guide describes Manifesto Coffee at 1003 S 11th St as a minimalist, industrial Hilltop cafe and a hangout for young creatives and gamers, with plenty of space to work on a laptop or bring a favorite board game. The cafe's own description adds metal music vibes and friendly staff to that picture.

What is the Naomi Joe cafe space like?

Naomi Joe's own visit page describes its cafe inside 7 Seas Brewing at 2101 Jefferson Ave as a communal space with room to work, meet friends or take a midday break. It calls the cafe the best place to try everything Naomi Joe has to offer, and it posts daily hours of 8 AM to 5 PM, which suits a weekend visit as well as a weekday one.

Is there another coffee shop on Jefferson Avenue?

Yes. Visit Pierce County's guide names Metro Coffee at 1901 Jefferson Ave #B, Tacoma, WA 98402, and says it has catered to UW Tacoma students since 2004. The guide describes bicycles on the walls, a small seating area for quiet conversation and a bench area for study groups. Metro Coffee keeps its current hours on its Instagram, @metrocoffeetacoma.

Does 7 Seas Brewing have another location?

7 Seas Brewing lists two taprooms on its own page: the Tacoma taproom at 2101 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402, where the Naomi Joe cafe sits, and a second at 2905 Harborview Dr, Gig Harbor, WA 98335. Gig Harbor is a separate city outside Tacoma, so for Hilltop and Jefferson coffee, the Jefferson Avenue address is the one to use.

Are there chain drive thrus on Hilltop?

The addresses in this guide are all independent shops. Dutch Bros has no Tacoma city page on its own locator, with its nearest stands in neighboring cities such as Fife, Lakewood and Puyallup. For Hilltop and Jefferson coffee, the stops are 1003 S 11th St, 2101 Jefferson Ave inside 7 Seas Brewing, and 1901 Jefferson Ave #B near the UW Tacoma campus.

How can Hillcane help a Hilltop cafe get found?

Hillcane helps independent coffee shops publish the details a Hilltop visitor needs: the full street address with its ZIP code, the landmark or building it sits in, the nearest transit stop, and posted hours for every day. In a neighborhood where 11th Street and Jefferson Avenue are easy to confuse, those details decide whether a customer arrives. Reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.

Work with Hillcane

On Tacoma's Hilltop, 1003 S 11th St and 2101 Jefferson Ave are different streets with different ZIP codes, and knowing which one you want is the whole coffee plan.

If your Tacoma coffee shop wants Hilltop visitors to land at the right street, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.