Coffee Break: San Francisco's Coffee Bar

Tags:: Culture

When you walk into the Financial District's newest third-wave coffee hot spot, Coffee Bar, it may seem like you're waiting under the arch of a proscenium rather than in line for a piping hot latte. And that's the whole point. This second outpost of Coffee Bar isn't trying to be like its neighborhood original where people spend lazy Sunday afternoons (or camp out all day on their laptops); it's a stage for the process of making an espresso drink. "As the third wave movement grows, we're exploring how this experimentation affects cafe design in a deeper sense," says J. Hulett Jones, a principal at jones | haydu, the architecture firm that designed the space. "We're exploring alternative layouts which highlight the artistry that happens behind the counter." In the slideshow that follows, Jones gives us the run down on his design. All images © Bruce Damonte.

— Diana Budds

Located at 101 Montgomery Street, the FiDi outpost of Coffee Bar is the second collaboration between owners Luigi DiRuocco and Robert Stang, and jones | haydu. The original Coffee Bar is in the Mission district of San Francisco and is a local favorite.

Photo by: Bruce Damonte

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