Craving coffee and community? Butter Notes Cafe offers a space for creatives

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 24, 2026

EVERETT — Tucked inside an Everett strip mall, Butter Notes Cafe provides community (and coffee) to hobbyists, jazz fans and anyone else who walks through the door.

After 14 years working in software, Sean Dokko is engineering a new project — a cafe for creatives.

“I want [visitors] to feel like they can participate in something creative at the cafe,” he said, “and also to share good conversations, to be able to connect with people.”

Butter Notes Cafe advertises “Jazz, Community, and Podcast Studio” on the cafe’s website.

The first part rang true March 6 as attendees tucked themselves into the cafe’s wooden tables to hear the Dowon Kim Quartet.

The show was pianist Dowon Kim’s first as a band leader. He met the other three members, Luke Gjerde on guitar, Eric Tran on bass and Paul Eschbach on drums, at one of Seattle’s jam sessions, an informal musical gathering. That’s also where he met Dokko, a fellow jazz enthusiast.

“I went to one of his jam sessions on Sundays that happen in his own cafe,” Kim said. “I love the venue. I love the vibe.”

Afterward, Kim asked Dokko if he could perform a show at the cafe.

The roughly two-hour set offered a range of familiar songs, including a jazz rendition of The Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things,” and “niche songs that you might not have heard of, but maybe can be your second favorite song after you listen,” Kim said.

Everett residents Rhonda Medalia and Don Kinney were looking for something fun to do in their area when they found information about the show online.

“They can definitely work together as a band,” Kinney said of the band. “Their music was excellent.”

Medalia liked the intimacy the cafe’s venue created.

“The people who work here were so kind, coming over to talk to us,” she said about Dokko, who visited tables during the intermission. “I mean, he didn’t have to do that, but it was so kind of him to come over and check in on us.”

Seattle has a bustling jazz scene, but Everett claims its fair share of jazz fans.

“I just feel like Everett is a good place to perform in general,” Kim said. “There is a good amount of audience, I believe, willing to support jazz music there.”

While the Dowon Kim Quartet does not have another show lined up at this time, the cafe hosts other jazz acts and a recurring jam session every other Sunday.

“I found out a lot of Seattle musicians are willing to come all the way up here in Everett just because there is a jam session,” Kim said.

The jam sessions tend to be more welcoming, with musicians coming to hang out, Dokko said. The friendly environment gives players the chance to experiment with playing a piece in a different tempo or key.

While the cafe continues to make a home in the jazz genre, Dokko said he wants to garner more community engagement this year.

Around a month ago, the cafe launched a podcast studio. Now, Dokko is working on new events centered around different creative communities and hobbies.

Spread throughout the established events, Dokko has added “budding community” events which offer a format designed for socialization around a common interest, such as board games, content creation, fiber arts and more.

“I also think people come to the cafe because it makes them feel like they’re part of the community,” he said. “That’s something that I continuously want to cultivate.”

Not looking for an activity but still want to chat? There is a spot for that, too. Dokko designated one of the cafe’s tables as a community table.

“Feel free to sit down if you want to engage in conversation,” he said.

If conversation alone isn’t enough sustenance, the cafe also serves crepes and croffles, a hybrid croissant-waffle pastry, with a variety of toppings. Classic coffee and tea lovers can find their go-tos, but the adventurous crowd can try their seasonal menu. As of March, the cafe offers cold brew with cream cheese cold foam and a mint mojito-inspired iced coffee, among others.

If you go

The cafe, located at 902 N Broadway, is open on weekdays, except Wednesday, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. To get the scoop on upcoming events or join one of the cafe’s communities, visitors can visit the website at butternotescafe.com.

Dokko recommends visitors try one of the house-made syrups.

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com. X: @JennaMillikan