Store Trek is a regular Voice feature
profiling new stores and businesses in Noe Valley. This month,
we introduce a coffee store that makes each cup to order.
For 35 years, Phil Jaber, Philz
Coffee’s owner and founder, drove up Diamond Street on the way
to his church, St. Nicholas, in Diamond Heights. The sight of
the people, the dogs, and the nannies strolling around Noe
Courts park convinced him he wanted to open a store in Noe
Valley.
“This is one of the most
beautiful cultured neighborhoods in the city,” says Jaber, who
opened his 10th Philz Coffee store in Northern California at
4298 24th St. near Douglass Street on March 31.
Philz Coffee sells Jaber’s
customized coffee and tea blends, but the store’s specialty is
making “personalized” coffee, one cup at a time.
Jaber says he took 25 years to
perfect his blends. He traveled to more than a thousand
different coffeehouses around the country before he came up
with his first blend, Tesora, the Italian word for treasure.
The medium roast coffee, one of the company’s two highest
sellers, goes for $13.95 per pound. The other top favorite,
Jacob’s Wonderbar, named for his son and CEO Jacob Jaber,
layers nuts and chocolate into a dark roast blend and sells
for $14.95 per pound.
“My coffee stays the same even a
hundred years from now. Nothing will change it,” says Jaber,
who began selling coffee in 2003 in a corner store at 24th and
Folsom streets in the Mission.
According to Rob Nevitt, Noe
Valley store manager, having a cup of coffee at Philz is an
experience to savor. Only after the customer has placed their
order does the barista grind the beans, sprinkle them in a
filter, and stream hot water over the coffee.
“I’ve been hooked since day
one,” says Nevitt, who claims he wasn’t really a coffee
drinker until he tried Philz’ Philharmonic, a blend seasoned
with cardamom. “It was the best coffee I’d ever had. I
realized this is something unique and special. It’s not just
coffee.”
Large chalkboards give the
prices and descriptions of Philz’ 18 blends of caffeinated
beans, five decaffeinated, three specialty blends, and 14
varietals (French, Ethiopian, Colombian), plus loose teas and
spices. The Code 33 blend is a dark roast “made for the San
Francisco Police Department, to keep them alert while keeping
our great city safe,” the store’s website says.
A cup of coffee costs between
$2.75 and $4.50, depending on the blend and the size of the
cup (small or large). A spot of tea is $2.50.
To complement the beverages,
Philz offers fresh pastries, delivered daily by Starter Bakery
in Oakland. Nevitt says the shop will soon add bagels and
vegan donuts.
Paintings by local artists adorn
the walls in the open, comfortable coffeehouse. Children’s
toys and games occupy the sunny front of the store.
Nevitt wants to add a chalk wall
for kids and will hold a children’s reading hour with local
authors. “We want to make it easier for moms. If kids are
happy, moms are happy,” says Nevitt, noting that the Noe
Valley Philz sells more decaf than most of the other stores,
“because we have a lot of moms.”
The store also attracts
middle-schoolers and teens, says Nevitt. “Every afternoon, I
get a group of kids in for their chai tea.”
Philz has free wi-fi for its
customers. “I want my guests, my clientele, to feel
comfortable. Next year, I want to put in chairs with seat
belts,” says Jaber, whose daughter Jessica suggested he add
the “z” to Phil, to make the store name stand out. “I want to
make this their first home. Their home becomes second,” Jaber
says.
Philz Coffee is open Monday
through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday
from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
