![]() ![]() coffee shops these days, where doubles are increasingly the norm. Guests can order single or double espressos, something a bit more uncommon in most U.S. That duality of modernity and old-school customs is similarly reflected in the menu. The Caffè sports dual Faemo espresso machines. The idea is to invoke Italian coffee bars - where the owner says it’s common to pay at the door and wait at the bar - while keeping the space contemporary, meaning all the business at the Caffè happens right by the luxe Faemo espresso machines. The cups and plates, for example, come from Habibi Ceramics in Campbell, California, where the artist helped blend old-school Italian aesthetics with sleeker Bay Area looks. “It’s a different kind of coffee shop,” Di Ruocco says. The wood complements the general aesthetic of the cafe the countertops are all made of copper, and a blonde palette made of dozens of finely-cut wooden slats rises up to the tall ceilings. The handsome space gleams with a 17-foot-long coffee bar made of two huge slabs of oak. “But I’m excited to see how customers interact with the space.” ![]() ![]() “I’m excited to have this process over with,” Di Ruocco laughs. The entrepreneur says it’ll be a huge relief to swing those doors open on May 22. There’s a full menu of coffee drinks and high-caliber pastries and Italian sandwiches, to boot. Named the Caffè, the shop takes over the first floor of the new 1120 Broadway development the Key in Oakland. But after more than a year, he’s opening the doors to the first permanent retail space for his family’s 45-year-old coffee roasting company Mr. Luigi Di Ruocco couldn’t have anticipated how a slow permitting process and all the various impacts of the pandemic would keep him from opening the doors to his new coffee shop. ![]()
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