Verve Coffee Casting Wide Net in LA With Three More Stores This Year

More quality coffee is on its way to Los Angeles, as Santa Cruz-based roastin', wholesalin' and retailin' operator Verve Coffee Roasters continues to make inroads into the Southland. With beans being roasted locally and a so-beautiful-it's-artsy flagship storefront on Spring Street downtown already, it seems the market is ripe for even more Verve Coffee around town.

As it turns out, Verve agrees, which is why they're planning not just one more location to debut by the end of 2015, but three.

The first sits in West Hollywood at 8925 Melrose Ave., just before it tapers off into Santa Monica Blvd. The one-story structure may not look like much at the moment, but it’s just steps from Gracias Madre which, if their crowds are any indication, means a new coffee shop should get plenty of traction.

There are also plans this year for a location not far away on Third Street, a block east of Crescent Heights in what looks to be a relatively recent standalone commercial building.

And to cap off 2015, Verve is pushing into Highland Park, which still has somehow not yet reached max cool capacity. The shop is likely to take over two current storefronts in an older two-story brick building almost on the corner of Figueroa and Avenue 56, across from The Greyhound.

Very, very nearby is the currently open Tierra Mia Coffee, which is set back into the neighborhood on Monte Vista St. More concerning however is the upstart espresso house Kindness and Mischief Coffee, which Kickstarted its way into a storefront less than a city block down the street on Figueroa. That’s three specialty coffee shops within a five minute walk, when just a few months ago there were none.

Verve CEO Chris Jordan says they hope to have all three stores operational by the end of the year, but will be focused on bringing up the Melrose Avenue location first.