Verve Coffee to open first Los Angeles cafe downtown

Santa Cruz-based Verve Coffee Roasters is opening its first Los Angeles cafe in downtown’s Fashion District this summer.

It’s the latest coffee bar to open in a neighborhood that might be considered L.A.’s coffee central; also downtown are Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Handsome Coffee, Spring for Coffee, Cafe Dulce and Demitasse among other burgeoning cafes and roasters big or small.

The 1,800-square-foot location in a historic Spring Street building will house Verve’s cafe, cold-pressed juicery Juice Served Here and design firm Studio MAI.

Verve says the Spring Street location is the first of three cafes that it plans to open in the next year, including one in the Arts District and another in West Hollywood.

Verve’s Spring Street cafe will be located in front of Studio MAI between 8th and 9th streets, a block from the new Ace Hotel and Acne Studios. The loft-like space, known as the Primrose Design building and formerly the home of L.A.’s City Club (with its “Dancing Girls� neon sign), features high ceilings and white marble walls dating back to the early 1900s.

“Downtown Los Angeles is the geographical heart of the city and is experiencing yet another cultural rebirth,� Verve co-owner Ryan O’Donovan said in a statement. “We are excited to be a part of the developing landscape.�

Verve partnered with Creative Space, a development and marketing firm that also connected Handsome Coffee and Stumptown, among other clients, with their locations. It brokered the partnership among Verve, Juice Served Here and Studio MAI.

Award-winning barista Devin Chapman will be heading the coffee bar, overseeing the cafe’s operations and hiring and training of staff.

833 Spring St., Los Angeles, www.vervecoffeeroasters.com.

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