might not have planned it this way, but in celebration of its 10-year anniversary, the local coffee shop will be giving its loyal customers the best gift they could imagine.
Come April, Catalina Coffee Co. will be expanding its brand in the form of a new location at 2810 Artesia Blvd., the same building that houses . The two local businesses hope that their individual efforts can successfully complement one another.
“We were approached by the owners of the building to consider it, and after looking at the location and the relationship we would have with the bookstore, we decided that it was something that would be really good for us in expanding,” said Catalina Coffee Co. co-owner Ellen Brown. “We’re very excited.”
“We’re thrilled because we’re like-minded, both independently, locally owned businesses,” said Mysterious Galaxy owner Terry Gilman. “They share a love of books and they share our vision of what we’re bringing to the community in terms of events and authors and programming.”
Catalina Coffee Co.’s primary location currently resides at 126 N. Catalina Ave., relatively close to its soon-to-be second location in hopes of keeping the small business local.
Nevertheless, Brown’s partner, Jeff Sallee, says that the second location was not decided upon without extensive research.
“We’ve had interest in several locations from other developers over the years,” Sallee said. “Finally, everything kind of came together. We’ve been at this since 1999. We realized we wanted it to stay within Redondo Beach and be an extension of this product.”
“We’ve looked in other states and other cities, and ironically, the best space for us is three and a half miles away,” Sallee added.
Gilman said that the original plan for Mysterious Galaxy, which opened last September, was to incorporate a café or coffee shop.
After an extended search for the correct suitor, Gilman said that she learned of Catalina Coffee Co. through an author that was a patron of both local businesses.
Now, Gilman and Sallee hope that their respective businesses can create a positive working partnership.
“Our customers will have some place to eat and their customers will hopefully be interested in our bookstore,” Gilman said. “Seems like a win-win all over the place.”
“The project was far enough along where we fit right in,” Sallee said. “They planned on having a coffee shop in there, and we came in with a proposal for more of a café. With these book signings, we’ll basically be like a built-in caterer for the bookstore.”
Sallee also added that the company’s second location would look to expand upon the menu, adding primarily beer and wine. In addition, both locations will soon add panini sandwiches and seasonal plates.
Lastly, Sallee mentioned that he is currently in discussions with the city to add each location to the South Bay Master Bicycle Plan, noting that a large percentage of the coffee shop’s business comes from the bike riding community.
“We have a really substantial bicycle client base,” Sallee said. “On the weekends, we get several hundred bicyclists that make us their stop and we want to honor them. Those are our biggest supporters.
“The city has been really supportive of this and their funding for the bike path is in place so the timing is great. Just everything really worked out well.”
