Bird Rock Coffee Shutters Cafe In San Diego’s Pacific Beach

Recognized by Roast Magazine as Micro Roaster of the Year in 2012, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters has been at the forefront of putting premiere coffee on the map in San Diego since opening it’s original location on La Jolla Boulevard in Bird Rock in 2006. Founder Chuck Patton first started roasting in 2001 with a do-it-yourself home coffee roaster that was a fateful gift from his wife, and the company now has additional locations in Bay Park, La Jolla, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Liberty Station, Encinitas, UCSD campus, and two in Little Italy.

In early 2017, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters was purchased by PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. of Topeka, Kansas. PT’s Coffee Roasting, who was named Coffee Roaster of the Year in 2009 by Roast Magazine, unveiled plans to partner with Patton to further develop the retail and wholesale efforts of the Bird Rock Coffee Roasters brand, intending to open more San Diego and northern California locations. Jeff Taylor, the co-founder and CEO of PT’s Coffee, met Patton in Nicaragua in 2008 and the two bonded over a shared love for coffee and a mutual ethos of ethically sourcing their beans. Patton remains on the company’s board of directors and is the head buyer for both Bird Rick and PT’s Coffee companies.

The Pacific Beach branch of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters opened in fall 2018 in a 2,250 square-foot standalone building at  829 Garnet Avenue a short walk from Crystal Pier. There was a sign posted on the cafe’s door to alert prospective patrons of the closure, but nothing was announced on the company’s social media channels. There is no report on what precipitated the sudden closure or what will come of the space.