Do you smell the coffee brewing in the Portola Garden District? After being closed for months, the former Four Barrel location is reopening under new ownership as HEY NEIGHBOR. The owners are Dee Derisse—who was such a regular at Four Barrel that they ended up working there for a couple years—who teamed up with fellow neighbor Natasha Podogova (they both live within a few blocks of the café, and are both filmmakers/artists).
Hey Neighbor is a fourth-wave café, focused on reclaiming coffee’s BIPOC roots and culture (highlighted through thoughtful sourcing and education), as well as featuring female roasters, and folks who build and contribute to coffee culture. Their first featured roaster is Captain + Stoker out of Monterey.
They will be offering a truffle and espresso pairing (with truffles from Feve Chocolatier), highlighting citrusy or nutty notes, for example, and they will be doing a fun take on a London Fog tea latte (we’re the right city for it). They are also partnering with Rize Up Sourdough on an activated charcoal loaf for the café. There are eventual plans for after-hours events, dinner service, and becoming a community event hub in the space. Be sure to say hi to Boots, the famous café cat who comes in every morning and hangs out until they close—the whole neighborhood loves and adores her. Hours will be 8am-3pm. 1 Burrows St. at San Bruno.
For now, you can get a first look at their soft opening on Sunday June 27th at the Portola Brunch Hop and try a latte with a yuzu-chocolate truffle. Start your Pride festivities by picking up brunch in the Portola—check out this handy guide to Portola brunch spots and dishes. You can enjoy some outdoor seating at the café and at Burrows Pocket Park Extension, the new gardens located behind Bank of the West.
A few other quick notes about new cafés: read about ABANICO COFFEE ROASTERS in Eater and the queer MILK [Chronicle], both in the Mission. It also looks like SPRO COFFEE LAB in the Castro is soft opening July 10th, RSVP here; 500 Church St. at 17th St.
Dee Derisse outside their new café, Hey Neighbor, in the Portola Garden District. Photo courtesy of Dee Derisse.
