Verve Coffee Roasters has just opened two new cafes, one in Santa Cruz and its first international location in Tokyo. The new Santa Cruz café is set on Santa Cruz's Westside, just blocks from the Pacific Ocean and near many great shops, and right next door to Bantam, one of the most celebrated restaurants in the greater Bay Area.
The new café, with a total of 1,600 square feet of indoor-outdoor space, was designed by the company's co-founders, and features a high arch bow truss ceiling, abundant natural light, and hanging plants to create a warm and welcoming coastal outpost vibe. The bar features a 4-group Kees van der Westen espresso machine with custom panels designed by artist Jeremiah Kille. In addition to espresso drinks, brewed coffee, juice, and tea on the menu, guests can enjoy select food and pastries from Manresa Bakery, founded by David Kinch, chef of the 3 Michelin Star restaurant Manresa.
The café has a small mixed retail area that sells Verve bagged coffee, camp mugs, klean kanteens, other branded merchandise, and their in-house publication, Farmlevel Digest - Volume 1, a photo-essay publication featuring Honduras coffee farms and farmers, shot entirely on film cameras by the founders.
The new Tokyo cafe is part of a new project at the Shinjuku Train Station, one of the busiest commuter hubs in Japan (3.7 million people in and out daily). Designed with throughput and operational efficiency in mind the 700 square foot café feels very much like every other Verve café, with its residential aesthetics and strong attention to details. Hanging plants, warm-tones of wood, and an intricately designed tile floor complement the light and open space.