Best Spots To Work Remotely….In Burlington, Vermont

Best Spots To Work Remotely….In Burlington, Vermont

It’s been six years since Governor Phil Scott, announced the launch of Vermont’s ‘Remote Worker Grant Program‘.

We’re proud of our brave little state and we’re grateful for the many folks who have made the leap and relocated to Vermont.

Now, it’s time to update our list of “Best spots to work remotely in Burlington Vermont”. For some more historical context, the world has experienced COVID since this original blog post was published (in 2018). Remote work, hybrid work, Zoom and so on has become a new reality for full time work as well as remote employees.

The cafes here in Burlington, Vermont have served as the office spaces and conference rooms for countless remote employees, freelancers, and small business owners. If you’re lucky enough to have a job that allows you this kind of flexibility you know that there’s nothing better than finding that perfect little spot to get into the ~work groove~ and crush through your task list for the day.

While we here at BootstrapVT have office space inside the incredible Hula (Burlington Vermont’s Coworking & Innovation Campus Incubator), there are so many other amazing places. In fact, we are somewhat ‘co-working fluid’ and cannot ignore where we got started at the amazing VCET co-working community. Sometimes, it’s a nice change of pace to get out into the bustling downtown and explore some of our favorite spots to work from here in Burlington.

Kestrel Coffee Roasters – Maple Street Cafe | Great for group meetings

The cool-kid-maker-vibes are about as strong as the single origin coffees from small farms served here at Kestrel Coffee Roasters – Downtown. Located just a few blocks from the Burlington Greenway Bikepath in a beautifully restored 1916 brick warehouse, Kestrel is bright and spacious with ample bike parking. The building is also home to Karma Bird House, one of the more creative work spaces for people, start ups, organizations, non-profits, community events, art and music. The mix of seating options like wide windowsills and long tables for big groups and it’s artistic energy make Kestrel the perfect spot to host a creative brainstorm or team meeting. Pro Tip: Order a ‘Pedestrian’, an insider’s “off menu” latte made with Vermont Maple Syrup and a kick of Cayenne pepper.

Vivid Coffee Roasters | Perfect spot to post up

Only half a block from the Church Street Marketplace, Vivid Coffee Roasters‘ space caters to students, remote workers, and latte lovers alike. Vivid Coffee is the real deal. Founder Ian Bailey has been vending with the Burlington Farmers Market market for six years, before opening the cafe. They source, roast, and serve vibrant coffee from small farms. Their goal is to establish a connection to small farms and farming communities by offering these one-of-a-kind, amazing coffees.

Vivid’s hope is that “their coffee not only fuels your work and inspires you… but that these coffees provide you with moments of connection to the earth from which they were grown and the hands that have so lovingly cared for that coffee before it found its way to you“. Totally, authentic, and totally Vermont.

The front half of this community cafe is made extra cozy with oversized couches and a warm fireplace, whereas the back-half of the space includes traditional cafe tables, large group seating areas and a ton of standing work stations each equipped with 2 outlets, a USB port, chair, and backpack hook. With ample space, and amazing food to suit every taste and dietary restriction (hello, vegan brunch options!) you will feel welcome spending hours here working, meeting and hopefully enjoy a delicious snack or two. Pro Tip: Breakfast items come with the option to upgrade to free-refills on drip coffee until 11 am!

Hotel Vermont | Great for day-to-night  

The first time you tell a non-Burlingtonian to head to a hotel lobby for a meeting they may give you a funny look – with so many cafes and bars to choose from steps away on Church Street why on earth would you hang out in a hotel??? But those of us familiar with Hotel Vermont know about the unmatched hospitality, warm fireplace lounge, and unique “Vermont-y” vibes that make this place one of the best spots to lounge in town. Snag a seat in front of the fireplace, hop on their complimentary WIFI, order a coffee from Juniper Bar & Restaurant and get to work. If you’re meeting a client (or maybe just want to treat yourself) go grab a seat at the bar and dive into their signature beer and cocktail menu. Pro Tip: The WIFI extends to their outdoor patio where you will find cozy couches, Adirondack chairs, and a year-round firepit – why not take that 3 pm conference call outside?

Dedalus Wine Bar | Ideal Place To Bring Clients

Showing your clients that you appreciate them is an important part of owning a business – but make sure you take them to the right place for those post-work-drinks, that’s where  Dedalus Wine Bar comes in. As if their trademark wine menu wasn’t enough of a reason, we love Dedalus because space is the perfect blend of trendy, friendly and comfortable, making it perfect for talking about that next big thing with your clients. Pro Tip: Sign up for one of their signature ‘Wine Clubs’ – in addition to great deals on bottles in their market, you’ll get discounts on wine and food in the Wine Bar! (Plus you can impress your clients with some savvy wine knowledge)

VCET (Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies) | Founder friendly community

To say that VCET has had an influence on the startup ecosystem in Vermont would be an understatement. I’ll be crystal clear:  VCET is the OG location for founders, startups, students, freelancers, remote workers, crazy ones, misfits, rebels and troublemakers. This is an intentional community of like-minded entrepreneurs. Whether you are here for a day, a week or a month, check out the good humans, good coffee and good Slack channels. TBH we wouldn’t be where we are today without our start at VCET. Respect to the people who make this place special: Dave, Sam, Nicole, Ema. Pro Tip: the First Tuesday of every month they have Tea Time in the kitchen. Free tea, coffee, sometimes bagels!

Hula | Coworking at scale

These days we spend our time at Hula. It’s truly a sight to behold with palm trees, lake front views of the Adirondacks, 150,000 sq ft of space, a VC fund, a surf club, saunas, gym and a restaurant. The size and scale of this co-working community is definitely the largest in Vermont. They have day passes, 10 block passes, dedicated desks, private offices and event spaces.  Pro Tip: free coffee, tea in the kitchen; they have a cake club, lunch club, and the largest Slack Channel in the state.