Amy ScattergoodThe Silver Lake coffeeshop Cafecito Orgánico, which opened in early March, has been doing so well that owners Angel Orozco and Mitch Hale are opening a second location, in the City College Cafe spot on Hyperion. The second Cafecito is set to open in late September or early October. If the new address seems oddly familiar, that's because it's right next door to Tai Kim's cult ice cream shop, Scoops. When we talked to Hale the other day, he confirmed the news and said the only thing he possibly could under the circumstances: “affogatos.”
The second Cafecito will be much the same as the first one, an intimate hang-out that caters to locals, serving remarkable, mostly organic coffee using beans that Orozco sources and then roasts at Yancey Quinones' Antigua Coffee House roastery. Orozco used to roast beans on his own Primo roaster, but between the coffeehouse and the weekend farmers markets that Cafecito attends (Silver Lake on Saturdays and Hollywood on Sundays), he simply needed too much coffee to keep up. Eventually Orozco and Hale plan on retrofitting Orozco's Primo and roasting their own coffee again a few doors down from the Silver Lake shop. They'll be needing a lot more coffee, as the new coffeehouse will be open daily (as is the Silver Lake shop), with hours beginning at 6:30 a.m. and extending to 10 p.m. To capitalize on, I guess, the late night ice cream crowd.
Orozco and Hale are putting a three group Astoria lever machine into the Heliotrope location — Silver Lake also has one of these; they like them — and will be pulling the same shots of espresso, making the same cafecitos — their signature drinks of espresso, milk and a hit of raw cane juice — and cold brew coffee. Hale says that the new place will feature cold brew on tap, as there's a bar fridge there that they plan to use for coffee. No booze in the bar fridge, but between all that caffeine and ice cream, you probably won't need it.
Cafecito Orgánico: 710 N Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles. Not yet opened.
Cafecito Orgánico's Mitch Hale and Angel Orozco; Credit: Brooke Burton
pulling a shot at Cafecito Orgánico; Credit: A. Scattergood
making a cafecito at Cafecito Orgánico; Credit: A. Scattergood
the coffee board at Cafecito Orgánico; Credit: A. Scattergood
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