In the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, a coffee shop with humble origins anchors a new storefront gathering space that rethinks the role of ground floor retail as social infrastructure for the post-pandemic streetscape. Grand Coffee Too is the second outpost of a cafe that began in a former theater ticket booth, and serves as the key activator of El Taller, a combination art gallery, venue, and maker space conceived by the building owner as a way to revive a forlorn facade within this rejuvenated stretch of the former “Miracle Mile.”
Grand Coffee’s founders traveled the world and engaged their designers in a rebranding exercise that envisioned their new location as an eclectic space that would transcend globalized coffee monoculture and defy coffee bar norms. Studio VARA developed a theater in the round concept for the café; with the central coffee bar as the focal point and stage, baristas transform their craft into a skilled performance. The boomerang shape of the bar intentionally breaks through the typical division between production and consumption and invites people to immerse in community and conversation centered around coffee. Rather than acting as a divider, the coffee bar thus serves as a device for fostering communication and engagement: each seat offers a unique perspective and an opportunity for interaction with the baristas and fellow patrons.
The café embraces a juxtaposition of materials that tells a story of contrasts. Rough, unfinished walls coexist with refined Moroccan-inspired tiles that adorn the back wall. The result is a harmonious union of textures and aesthetics that spark interest. The space retains the patina of time through layers of paint and exposed brickwork. The remodel has preserved the building's character blending rough and refined materials, celebrating street art, and preserving history in its walls.
Studio VARA’s principal, Christopher Roach developed the concept for the coffee bar while simultaneously designing an exhibition at YBCA with his colleagues at California College of the Arts’ Urban Works Agency. The theme of the Urban Works installation was “a seat at the table” which studied the historical significance of tables where pivotal decisions, such as the Treaty of Versailles and the Geneva Conventions, were made. This exploration of how furniture and space-making can reinforce or undermine power dynamics and social hierarchies laid the groundwork for the re-conception of the coffee bar within the space of Grand Coffee Too and El Taller.
