Kaffee Bohnen

SLASH + DESIGN CO. handled every part of this one (interior, exterior, branding, even the permits) and built it on a 1960s German mining concept, which is a lot of concept for one coffee bar. The bar backs the design with a real pour-over category, an Ethiopia and a Colombia, next to an espresso board long enough to reach a blood orange tonic, and Rockenwagner pretzels in the case.

Sourcing is bought in from LaB Coffee & Roasters, a direct-trade roastery on North Western Avenue, in an Ethiopia, a Colombia, and a Neo Trinity blend with no farm, producer, varietal, process, or roast date on any listing. A Koreatown directory instead credits the brewed coffee to Balrog, whose principal Tommy Kim placed third at the 2022 US Brewers Cup, a credit the shop itself has never repeated.

SLASH + DESIGN CO. drew the interior, the exterior and the branding here as one piece, working a 1960s German mining concept in metal, steel and wood on a neutral grey-and-black palette. Most shops pick a mood; this one picked a decade and an industry.