• Griot’s Garage is a family-run car care business specializing in high-quality detailing products and garage accessories since 1990.
• All Griot’s products are developed, manufactured, and tested in its Plainfield, Indiana, facility, while the headquarters and flagship store is located in Tacoma, Washington.
• In 2010, Griot’s began hosting its own rendition of Cars and Coffee called “Caffeine & Gasoline,” which takes place every first Saturday of the month (rain or shine).
• This month’s event was themed to showcase classic and modern Ferrari models highlighted by a multi-million dollar 250 GTO.

The story of “Cars & Coffee” began in 2003, originating in a Southern California shopping center called Crystal Cove. The concept behind it was quite simple: wake up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning, take out your project/weekend car, and link up with your car buddies (that you likely met over a forum) to sip some vanilla lattes. Cars & Coffee wasn’t meant to be anything massive or crazy. The thought of kicking off the weekend with automotive flavor before family duties and household chores took precedence was precisely what every enthusiast needed — no matter what genre of cars you were into. It became a global phenomenon with C&C offspring popping up everywhere from the most prominent cities to the smallest towns, ranging from 1,000 to 10 cars. It got to the point where passionate companies in the industry also opened their doors on weekends to host the early morning experience, Pit+Paddock included. Another brand that has taken Cars & Coffee to new heights is the well-respected and widely touted car care and detailing specialist, Griot’s Garage.

Since 2010, Griot’s has been putting its own spin on Cars & Coffee, coining their version as “Caffeine & Gasoline.” The event takes place at its Tacoma, Washington, headquarters on the first Saturday of every month (rain or shine). The company’s facility is quite rad as there’s enough parking to fit over 100 cars on the exterior, plus a showroom of vehicles inside that’s carefully curated by Griot’s staff. The flagship store is also open for those needing to reload on car wash supplies and some of Griot’s Speed Shine. Additionally, a handful of car care experts are on-site to offer advice and demos for the ultimate early morning automotive experience to kickstart the weekend right.

What I was most impressed about was the diversity of cool cars. Everything was on hand, from old Chevy trucks to turbocharged 911s and vintage Volkswagens. With this month’s theme of Caffeine & Gasoline being “Ferrari,” there was quite the assortment of modern-day supercars and classic Italian masterpieces. We even spotted a perfectly half-scaled 250 GT California circulating the grounds, complete with accurate details and spotless silver paint. However, the star of the show was a white 250 GTO parked in the Avants booth that’s estimated to be worth upwards of $60M.

While some events might offer a unique variety of automobiles in one place. I can’t think of many other with car care specialists on-site, making it easy to keep those same vehicles in tip-top shape. Especially considering the vast array of high-quality car care products available in the store, this event really has it all.

For over a decade, Griot’s Garage has been providing a safe haven for enthusiasts all across the entire Pacific Northwest region to hang out and celebrate car culture in one of the best ways the car world knows possible — Cars & Coffee, or in Griot’s terms, Caffeine & Gasoline.

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