17-06-2025
Get Caffeinated at Dolores Park's Upcoming Fancy Coffee Bar
Andrew Barnett is a coffee roaster amongst coffee roasters. He's friends with icons, including George Howell, the man who sold the frappe, through his Coffee Connection, to Starbucks. Barnett's Linea Caffe opened in the Mission District in 2013, its blue and red facade part of the furniture between Valencia and Mission streets. Now he's taking Linea to new heights with his splashiest cafe yet.
Just a stone's throw from Dolores Park, a new Linea cafe will open next door to Bi-Rite Creamery on 18th Street. This cafe takes over the former Nopalito window space at 3690 18th Street. Here, Linea will offer blended coffee drinks, delicate pour-over service, and a 'bean bar,' a throwback to the coffee bean scooping operations of original San Francisco businesses, including Polk Street's Freed, Teller & Freed. The hope is to open by late summer or early fall 2025.
The 800-square-foot space is two-and-a-half times the size of the first Linea shop. Guests will be able to sit inside, unlike the first spot and the Potrero Hill warehouse, which has a parklet but no other seating. Designer Alan Sklansky, a local talent who worked on the Zuni Cafe redesign, will handle the buildout. There'll be Dynamo Donuts and Neighbor Bakehouse goods at this outpost, as there are at the first two Lineas. New offerings — including the company's newest espresso blend, A4 — will be available by pour-over and espresso only. 'I love pour-over coffee,' Barnett says. 'But I love espresso. I dream of espresso.'
Linea's been busy elsewhere in the city, too. In late May, the company launched an espresso cart out of the Potrero Hill roasting facility. A handsome light wood cart takes over the big loading dock leading into the Mariposa Street warehouse. Pastries and bags of coffee line the cart. The cart will show up each Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Barnett says it has been a chance for his staff to try their hand at a more experiential, pop-up operation.
Still, Barnett insists coffee roasting is Linea's number one priority. His business is a Benefit Corporation, or B Corp, which means the intent of the business and profits go toward social impact-focused causes. Barnett says this moment in the United States — riddled with anti-immigration sentiment and bizarre supply chain issues created by the new administration — is an incredibly difficult one for specialty coffee. Working with farmers and producers who grow organic, biodynamic coffees is his focus. 'We're a showcase for that,' Barnett says. 'Linea in Italian is line. We're a line connecting the coffee to the finished product.'
Linea Caffe (3690 18th Street) will open in late summer or early fall 2025. See More: San Francisco Restaurant Openings
