Pasadena Coffee House Strikes Gold in San Diego, Expands Again

A Pasadena-based coffee house is preparing to branch out into San Diego, where they launched a new cafe and eatery just last fall.

Copa Vida Coffee and Tea — which first opened its doors in 2013 on the corner of Raymond Avenue and Green Street in Pasadena — will now be setting up in a long-vacant office managed by MetLife Investment Management in downtown San Diego, according to Eater.

The building, which has previously been home to several restaurants such as Meatball Cucina and Crescent Heights, is being turned to a new space for Copa Vida which features the store’s signature U-shaped coffee bar. The new location is slated to be finished sometime in October or November.

Copa Vida’s founder, Steve Chang, says the new store will be equipped with state-of-the-art brewing machines for espresso and tea, pop-up doors that lead into a 1,500 square-foot patio, and a tap system that pours iced tea, cold brew coffee and kombucha, a fizzy fermented tea which literally translates into “tea mushroom.”

Furthermore, the store will have a “slow bar,” which lets baristas and customers interact to customize drinks and a self-serving morning coffee bar that operates on the honor system, according to Chang.

The new coffee shop will be located at 655 West Broadway, and will use the company’s recently-debuted “disloyalty card,” which encourages its customers to try out local surrounding coffee houses, such as James Coffee Company or Dark Horse Coffee Roasters.

Copa Vida plans to open up more shops around the San Diego area, such as in the Alexandria science park campus in Sorrento Valley, which is lined up to be launched around the same time the new location in downtown will open.

In Old Pasadena, Copa Vida is located at 70 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena. For more see www.copa-vida.com or call (626) 213-3952.