Happy reports from the great American Southwest, where the coffee scene in Las Vegas has never been better–check out our recent Las Vegas city guide if you need more proof. Homegrown roaster Vesta Coffee are getting in on the action with an exciting new cafe space in a 2600 square foot building in the LV Arts District, opening this October.
As told to Sprudge by Jerad Howard of Vesta Coffee Roasters.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
Vesta Coffee Roasters was grown of basic necessity and desire for quality coffee. Las Vegas was a coffee desert, finding fresh, quality coffee was a challenge. A few years ago our founder started home roasting and self-taught himself the ropes, roasting merely for personal use. Next thing you know, we’re leasing a space in the Las Vegas Arts District and buying a Probat! And it’s really grown from there. First and foremost we are roasters. We lead with that and plan to model that attention to detail and focus on our cafe, service, and food programs.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
It’s a historic building in the downtown Las Vegas Arts District, also referred to as the “18b.” It’s a beautiful 2600-square-foot building with great bones. A nice brick building that we are completely gutting and building out from the inside out. We plan to open up the space and provide a solid hub for the community and coffee enthusiasts. We want the design to be clean but inviting. Clean white subway tile, concrete, American walnut, and brass is our palette. We have enough space for our production area as the focal point with the cafe, beautiful front-of-the-house area, and large community tables and window seats looking both in and out.
What’s your approach to coffee?
We believe that you should source smart then try your best not to mess up the rest. As first and foremost being roasters, get great and interesting coffees, then really try and understand how to embellish the particular qualities you would like to bring out in that lot. We come from a tech background so we are at habit approaching from a technical nature, but we understand and appreciate that good coffee is only a portion of our customers’ visit. From roasting, to extraction, to service and experience.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
We have an old two-group La Marzocco Linea Classic being upgraded to PB spec and that’s got some cool mods and customizations on it. Flat black with brass, and walnut embellishments. Mazzer Robur, Super Jolly, a Mahlkönig Peak, and an EK 43 for our manual service on Kalitas. Our most valuable piece of equipment is our filtration system. Vegas water is extremely hard and tastes horrible, therefore really bad for coffee, and we feel that strict reverse osmosis with remineralization is key. So, you’ll see a Global Customized Water system supplying the lines.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
We are shooting for October 31. Fingers crossed for costumes and cold brew.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
I’d like to mention our general contractor, Trinity Haven Development. We’ve done all of the design in-house, so being able to have a contractor that can work with that is key. He takes our crazy ideas and helps make them a reality. Trinity is also great at making sure everyone is educated on the process and helps to manage expectations. He comes highly recommended in Las Vegas, and he lives up to the hype.
What’s the address?
1114 South Casino Center Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photos courtesy of Emily Wilson.
