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DESIGN BUREAU
Travel & Culture
The New Coffee Shop Culture These two Java spots provide a pretty backdrop for your percolated beverage
The Café: Verve Coffee Roasters Pacific Avenue Location: Santa Cruz, CA Designed by: Fuse Architecture When Dan Gomez and Dan Townsend started designing Verve Coffee Roasters in Santa Cruz, they considered some of the other things that might bring a customer into a coffee house: the perfume of roasting coffee beans, the good looking barista behind the counter, and the lively coffee house culture. “You come in for a high quality cup of coffee, [but] you also come into a high quality design space,” Townsend says. “We can’t just serve a good cup of coffee and not deliver on the experience.” The Dans decided on a design that left Verve’s Pacific Avenue shop completely open so the coffee, kitchen, and baristas are always on view. Picture windows flood the store with natural light, and utilitarian tungsten bulbs, metal chairs and tables, and concrete floors give the shop an industrial chic look. It’s a space that encourages people to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere. The good coffee, we’re sure, doesn’t hurt either.—delia cai Verve images by Ted Holladay, courtesy of Fuse Architecture; Opelika images courtesy of Salvas Emig Architects