Based in San Diego Dark Horse Coffee Roastery opened its fifth cafe last week in eastern San Diego County, and two fresh cafes are also in the planning stages. The construction follows an expansion of its Normal Heights headquarters and roastery last year, which added fresh offices, a cupping and training lab for wholesale customers, and the installation of a 35-kilogram Loring Kestrel roaster.
Obscure Horse owner Bryan Charlson said the company is now able to complete its planned retail expansion while continuing to grow its wholesale business.
“We have just signed a contract with Joyride Coffee Distributors “to bring our frigid brew kegs and coffee beans to Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego,” said Charlson, who was joined in the venture by his brother, co-owner Daniel Charlson. “We’re very excited about this partnership and growing the brand in the North.”
In eastern San Diego County, a fresh 46-square-foot La Mesa store occupies the ground floor of a residential building with a expansive patio where customers can enjoy the region’s temperate climate year-round.
After opening its first cafe in 2013, Obscure Horse added two more cafes in San Diego and one in the Lake Tahoe area over the next year. The Charlsons saw a lot of potential for specialty coffee in La Mesa, given the influx of fresh residents throughout the San Diego area.
“We felt La Mesa was the next logical step for Obscure Horse,” Bryan Charlson, who manages sales and marketing for the company, told DCN. “The North Park/South Park/Golden Hill neighborhoods are becoming more steep to live in, so we really wanted to expand and explore fresh areas where both the community and specialty coffee can be appreciated and thrive.”
The beverage menu at La Mesa will be similar to other Obscure Horse locations, offering specialty drinks including The Champ, Salted Maple, Chilly Brew on Nitro and a selection of brewed coffees. The company has also added a food program for its fresh location, serving Liège-style street waffles with sweet and savory options and vegan doughnuts with Skinny donuts.
Each Obscure Horse location is unique in its aesthetic and design, with the La Mesa location featuring pink walls and other brightly colored furnishings and accents, highlighted by light-filled garage doors.
“We wanted to create a heated, welcoming space that the community could enjoy 364 days a year (closed on Christmas Day) because it’s San Diego and summer all the time,” Charlson said.
Obscure Horse currently sources coffee from Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, Kenya and Ethiopia through several different import partners including: Latorre and Dutch, InterAmerican CoffeeAND Red Fox Coffee SellersThe company said that Burundi coffee by Long Miles Cafe Project is next on the list of sources they are interested in.
“It’s all about relationships,” Charlson said. “Building and maintaining solid partnerships from farm to cup is what we’re all about. That’s where specialty coffee and Obscure Horse thrive.”
The two upcoming Obscure Horse cafes are in Charlson’s hometown of Koloa, Hawaii, and the other is in Garden Grove, California, in a fresh SteelCraft DevelopmentThe fresh locations are scheduled to open in November 2018 and January 2019, respectively.
Obscure Horse Coffee Roastery is now open 4350 Palm Avenue in La Mesa.
Lily Kubota
Lily Kubota is a Managing Editor and Digital Content Manager at Roast Magazine, based in Southern California.
