I started posting rumors of Seattle roaster Caffé Vita coming to Portland way back in 2007. For those who aren’t familiar with the brand, Caffé Vita could be compared to our own Stumptown coffee. With five locations in Seattle and one in Olympia, they are a force to be reckoned with. For whatever reason, they never opened a Portland retail location, though rumors are that more than a few feathers were ruffled when Stumptown expanded into Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Last week, the coffee company quietly started moving into the old Concordia Coffeehouse Space at 2909 NE Alberta. Vita merchandise has been added to the shelves, and the coffee has been switched over. Rumor has it they will be roasting at this location, and it will be used as their Portland flagship.
It’s going to be interesting to see if they make any ripple in the local coffee scene, especially since they are the first out-of-town chain to come to Alberta street.
byron beck says
Dude,
I love it when you make it sound like you have the inside scoop on something that has already been reported on other sites. The fact is Caffe Vita didn’tly exactly slip in. Caffe Vita’s Chad Freilino shared the good news, including the news that they would be roasting at the new Alberta St. location, with a large crowd at a P:ear event over two weeks ago. Eater reported it here on Sept. 20: http://pdx.eater.com/archives/2010/09/20/caffe-vita-kicks-off-kidrun-cart-announces-pdx-location.php
Food Dude says
Sorry Byron, but I didn’t know about this until Friday. If you read the post carefully, you’ll see I linked to the person who sent me an email confirming it for me. This may be a shock, but I don’t generally read other food sites. It’s hard enough just keeping up with my own.
(updated: actually I got an email from a reader after the announcement event, but was in the middle of chemotherapy and promptly forgot until today)
Tommy says
Eater… Damn it!
Tommy says
As long as I have the ear of somebody with advanced knowledge of this… I’m wondering, Byron, do you have any idea what the situation with the space next door is going to be? There’s a set of french doors that connects the shop to that space, which had been a clothing boutique but is now a real estate agency. Perhaps that will become the roasting facility? I suppose I could just wander over and ask them, but I don’t want my chair to get cold…
Food Dude says
Rumor is that section will be roasting
Matt says
I wondered what was going on in there! I popped in this weekend to get a bag of Stumptown beans and some ‘strange to me’ beans were the only ones on the shelf… so I left without taking a chance on them. The interior was still dingy and unappealing… wonder if they’re gonna break into that task too? Sure not much of a draw as it is now.
livetoeat says
I walked over there for a cappuccino this morning. It was excellent. The super amiable barista seems excited about Cafe Vita taking over Concordia Coffee House. They will be re-doing the space, which is in desperate need of renovation. The dark and dingy feel is what has kept me away from there in the past.
If the rest of their staff is as friendly and knowledgeable as the barista that I met this morning, I think they will be a great addition to the high-end coffee scene in Portland.