Santa Cruz-based Verve Coffee Roasters announced yesterday in the Village Voice that they’ll be bringing their airy West Coast charms to cool-conscious Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for the holiday season.
The pop-up cafe expects to open Monday at 33 Grand Street (that’s the former APC store), within a shared space curated by Rudy’s Barbershop that will also feature Portland, Oregon clothier Poler, who specialize in toques, camping shorts, and Instagram. The barber shop & espresso experience is trending right now in Brooklyn; if you’re unable to get into Parlor Coffee and Persons of Interest for your haircut and espresso, you may wish to double-down at this location instead. This isn’t Rudy’s first foray into the coffee crossover market — last year the salon also piloted a pared-down espresso service, featuring Stumptown coffee.
Though Rudy’s takes Monday-Thursday off from cutting hair, the space will be open weekdays from 8am-7pm and until 8pm on weekends to dole out coffee and fashion gear through the end of January. Located steps from the Williamsburg waterfront and charming, perplexing Grand Ferry Park, the Verve bar at Rudy’s will be fully outfitted with a La Marzocco Strada EP and Chemex brew bar, and a dedicated grinder for single origin espresso. “It’ll be fully legitimate,” assures Verve co-founder Colby Barr, speaking to Sprudge.
Look for noted barista finalist and iconoclast Chris Baca to be getting his Brooklyn on behind the bar, alongside a team of bicoastal Ververs and – wait for it – reigning Northwest Regional Barista Champion Devin Chapman, formerly of Coava Coffee in Portland. Sources were unable to confirm at time of publication whether Mssrs. Baca, Chapman, or any of the staff would attempt to translate their Santa Cruz skills to surfing the Rockaways.
The roaster plans to feature a specialized line of their coffees in the space, Mr. Barr told Sprudge from Verve’s headquarters in Santa Cruz. Expect an Ethiopia Gedebe from the Yirgacheffe region, and a Costa Rica named Genesis, hand-selected by Mr. Baca.
“We’ll also have Streetlevel espresso and a single origin Santa Clara espresso from Guatemala that’s seriously good,” promises Barr. They also plan to offer one or two of their coffees exclusive to New York City during the residency: some specially chosen small lots that won’t be for sale on the sunny banks of the Pacific. And for Verve’s first location outside of Santa Cruz – a long-rumored Los Angeles expansion is just now taking steps towards fruition – well, this Brooklyn outpost couldn’t be better-timed. New York could use a little extra sunshine this time of year.
Liz Clayton is a staff writer for Sprudge.com. Read more Liz Clayton here.
