Escondido, CA – Manzanita Roasting Company, a vibrant new craft coffee house opening on the corner of Grand Avenue and Juniper, is the latest on a growing list of eateries revitalizing Grand Avenue, in the heart of Escondido.
Escondido residents and homeowners in the Escondido Historic District, Weston and Samantha Nawrocki, were driven by a strong sense of place and purpose to create their second Manzanita Coffee House location in their own hometown. “We’re excited to bring Manzanita coffee to our hometown, literally a few blocks from our home”. Weston and Samantha’s flagship Manzanita Roasting location and coffee house are located in Rancho Bernardo, on the Bernardo Winery, where Weston has been roasting coffee, using state of the art technology and a sustainable, energy efficient roaster since 2015.
Besides the current Rancho Bernardo location and the slated Escondido location, Manzanita roasts coffee for shops throughout San Diego and across the United States. Their coffee has won National and North American medals and awards as well as distinction among the United States top 20 coffee roasters. Weston attributes some of his success to his training as a classically french trained chef in Canada as well as his WSET 3 sommelier background. Samantha comes from a San Diego winery family, Bernardo Winery where she’s also currently director of marketing. The two share a passion for high quality products and service and look forward to bringing that to Escondido.
Weston and Samantha aspire to do more than serve great coffee at the new location. From its inception, the Grand Avenue location is being designed to be a revitalized hub for the Escondido community, in the heart of the city. The space Manzanita will occupy encompasses the corner of a new development, known as The Grand Project. The project is currently in a location encompassing the historic Ritz Theater at Juniper and Grand Avenue in Escondido, with completion scheduled for Spring 2020.
The Grand Project, created and led by New Vintage Church and it’s Pastor Tim Spivey, will renovate the long-abandoned Ritz Theater as well as build out the coffee house, a Black Box theater, dance studio, meeting rooms, and a 3rd floor rooftop lounge.“We view The Grand Project, including the renovation of the Ritz Theater to its former glory in both use and design, as a radical act of service to our city. We are willing to take on the sizable cost of doing so … our vision is to produce a project that the citizens of this community are going to look at five years from now and say that was the best thing to ever happen to Grand Avenue,” says Spivey. The overall design of the project draws inspiration from 1930’s architecture and the original Ritz theatre, built in 1938.
The 80-year-old Ritz Theater, which has sat vacant for 15 years and now undergoes this exciting transformation, will become a place for New Vintage Church to hold services, while the rest of the time it will serve the downtown community as a concert, film and theatrical venue. The adjacent building has been demolished and will be replaced by Manzanita Coffee House on the bottom floor, with offices and meeting rooms on the 1st and 2nd floor for the church as well as the community. The 3rd floor will house a rooftop lounge. The project’s estimated cost is approximately $7.2 million. “We’re really looking forward to being a part of this exciting Grand Avenue revitalization, and working with Tim Spivey and the New Vintage Church team. They have a great vision for The Grand, and the Ritz Theater will shine again, “ says Samantha.
The Grand location of Manzanita Coffee House will open seven days a week, opening early for morning commuters, with hours throughout the day and evening hours on weekends and during special events. Manzanita’s menu will offer coffee and espresso drinks, a savory and sweet toast menu, breakfast sandwiches, quiche, as well as pastries, dessert items, smoothies and other snack items. All of the menu items at Manzanita, down to the syrups for lattes, are made in-house or sourced locally. Free WiFi will be offered in the roomy corner cafe while the rooftop seating area of the Grand, overlooking Grand Avenue and the city will also be open for patrons to enjoy. “We are thrilled to have Manzanita partner with us in this historic project. Samantha and Weston are wonderful people who are committed to the vision and this community. Their team provides incredible coffee and service that exemplifies the quality and experience patrons will enjoy throughout The Grand”, said Spivey.
For more information about Manzanita Roasting Company please visit our website at Manzanitaroasting.com and follow along with us on Instagram @Manzanitaroasting.
Media Contact: Samantha Nawrocki
For more information about The Grand Project please visit please visit our website thegrandproject.org and follow us on instagram @thegrandescondido
Media Contact: Tim Spivey