Welcome back to our LOUtoday coffee shop bracket, where we’re asking you to determine the best coffee shop in Louisville.

Winner

And the bracket winner is… Heine Brothers, voted best coffee shop in Louisville by our readers and social media followers in our LOUtoday coffee shop bracket. Heine bested Quills by over 100 votes in a battle of two local chains. Heine has been in business for 30 years — and this is surely their crowning achievement.

We want to extend a major “thank you” to all of you for participating in our bracket challenge the past few weeks. We’ve had a blast seeing how the votes shook out, and we hope you did too. Looking for more coffee shops around town? Check out our guide.

Championship Round

After our second round of votes, we’re down to two “teams” left:

Heine Brothers and Quills | Two local chains with passionate followings come together to find out who's bean is at the top of the heap. Both sides took just over 53% of the vote in their respective semifinal matchups — Heine Brothers took the esspresso lane to beat Safai while Quills percolated past Sunergos.

Ready to decide who wins in our bracket? Cast your vote below.

Round 2

Welcome back to our LOUtoday coffee shop bracket, where we’re asking you to determine the best coffee shop in Derby City.

After our initial round of votes, we’re down to four “teams” left.

Safai and Heine Brothers | Safai brewed up a clear win in its match with Fante’s, taking over 60% of the vote, but Heine Brothers just dripped past Bean by a margin of ten votes in Round 1. Now, they come together with a spot in the championship round on the line.
Quills and Sunergos | Both of these shops overtook their first round opponents by 50+ votes, but now that popularity will be tested. Two locally-based chains, with deep followings go head-to-head — and sip-for-sip.

Ready to decide who moves on to the final two in our bracket? Cast your vote.

Round 1

With the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments just around the corner, we’re joining the fun of bracket competitions with a faceoff of our own.

Last year, you helped us name the best pizza: Danny Mac’s Pizza. This year, we asked you to share your favorite coffee shop in Louisville. Now — thanks to you and the help of a random generator — we have the official lineupfor our bracket.
Who’s in the running

Going head-to-head in the first round are:

Safai and Fante’s | Two family-owned shops go head-to-head here, both have been in business for decades.
Heine Brothers and Bean | It’s battle between on-the-go and slowing your roll. Heine Brothers has 17 locations dedicated to drive-thru service, while Bean is a Germantown neighborhood favorite for grabbing a cup of coffee and catching up with a friend.
Quills and The Well | Quills boasts seven locations throughout Louisville, and goes up against The Well from Louisville’s South End.
Sunergos and Please & Thank You | Coffee might be bitter, but Please & Thank You is known for its award-winning chocolate chip cookies. Sunergos serves the LOU coffee community as a wholesaler.

How it works

Beginning today, we will host several voting rounds within our newsletters and social channels to determine Louisville’s best coffee. Who moves on is up to you. Vote for your favorites, and the shop with more votes moves on. Simple as that. We’ll go until we have a champion, which will be announced in our Monday, March 25 newsletter. You will be able to voteonce per round.

How to participate

Vote for the shop you’d like to see advance to round two using this poll. You can vote for all four spots or as little as one. Once we count all the votes, we’ll share an updated bracket and new poll in an upcoming newsletter.

Ready to cheer your “team” to victory? Vote at the button below.

Nominations

With the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments just around the corner, we’re joining the fun of bracket competitions with a face-off of our own with our LOUtoday coffee shop bracket.

But first, we need your help nominating the spots you think should be in the bracket.

Using the nomination form below, submit the local spot that has your favorite cup of joe, and we’ll use your nominations to create a bracket + battle it out in our newsletter and on socials.

Need help brainstorming? Check out our coffee shops guide to get started.