Provecho Coffee Co. Opening Permanent Cafe in Barrio Logan - Eater San Diego
"A well-received coffee pop-up that’s held sold out events in Tijuana and throughout San Diego is building a new cafe and community space in Barrio Logan inside Bread & Salt. Provecho! Coffee Co. founders Gerardo Ledesma and Karem Alcántar started catering office parties and events three years ago, shifting to selling bottles of their cold brew via Instagram during the pandemic before establishing a website through which they distribute their coffee drinks and beans to local consumers as well as wholesale clients in Los Angeles and Phoenix. Born and raised in San Diego, Ledesma spent a decade working in specialty coffee at area cafes like West Bean, Copa Vista, and Coava Coffee and local roaster TRVLR Coffee. He sources beans directly from farmers in Mexico and Colombia, including a woman-owned micro lot in Oaxaca, and roasts the coffee here in San Diego. Provecho! Coffee Co. will open at Bread & Salt by late spring or summer in one of the entry halls of the former commercial bakery turned arts center that still houses one of its industrial mixers, which will be incorporated into the permanent coffee counter. Designed by Jerry Guzmán of Casa129, whose studio is in one of the upstairs office spaces, the cafe will add more seating indoors as well as finally activate the building’s outdoor patio and garden along Julian Avenue. Guzmán, who met Ledesma and Alcanta through one of their catering events, says collaborating on the Barrio Logan project is a welcome return to his roots; his family opened Chicano Perk, which eventually turned into Latte Mi Corazon, in Sherman Heights. The coffee house was a popular meeting place for the community activists before it was forced to close more than 10 years ago. Provecho will have a full brew bar serving single origin coffees and teas, along with classic drinks and specialties such as its piloncillo-sweetened latte, orange-cinnamon cold brew, and Dirty Horchata, a mix of espresso and housemade horchata. Telling Eater that he hopes to help expand representation for Mexican coffee in the U.S., Ledesma’s house espresso blend features beans from Oaxaca, Chiapas and Veracruz. The cafe will also have a light food menu, including a toast program and pastries made by a local baker." - Candice Woo
