Soon-to-open Hedge Coffee shop is ‘the definition of highly anticipated’

The city’s newest high-end coffee temple is so committed to standing out in the city’s crowded coffee scene that the owners planted a 20-foot redwood in the middle of its open-roof courtyard. The cafe is Hedge Coffee (opens in new tab), the tree’s name is Francesca, and there’s a hummingbird nest tucked into her branches — for good measure. 

Hedge opens Saturday on an industrial block of Shotwell Street in the Mission,  almost four years after co-founders Olga and Alex Sobal acquired the high-ceilinged former warehouse with partners Xiani Wang and Kyle Bowes. Alex is a big fan of bonsai, and when they teamed up with prolific restaurant designer Boor Projects (opens in new tab) to envision the space, they wanted something to differentiate it from San Francisco’s many design-forward coffee shops — including the Tartine and Sightglass locations the firm also worked on. “Our architects had the vision to plant a tree in the middle of the building,” Sobal adds, “and here she is.”

This isn’t Hedge’s debut in the Mission — which is hardly a caffeine desert, with Linea, Stable Cafe, and a mosaic-floored Sightglass all within a few blocks. It’s a return, as Hedge had briefly operated a pandemic-era pop-up at the now-defunct Front Coffee on nearby Alabama Street, winning acclaim for its silky smooth cortados and aromatic vanilla lattes. Giants outfielder Hunter Pence and his wife Lexi were known to be fans (opens in new tab).

“We were only there for nine months,” Sobal says. “But when we were closing, we had a line around the corner. It was very emotional.” Since then, Hedge has cemented its reputation as both a coffee nerd’s go-to brand and Silicon Valley’s preferred vendor, with eight carts energizing attendees at some 500 events per year, from birthday parties to tech conferences. 

It’s a uniquely mobile operation — a specialty coffee caterer, essentially. Indeed, as its 10th anniversary approaches in December, Hedge stands out for having had such a minimal brick-and-mortar presence throughout its history. The Sobals had been reluctant to commit to a physical location, but the soon-to-open cafe will double as their roastery and headquarters. The menu is as minimalist as the space, with a U-shaped pour-over bar and tea from Roots & Craft (opens in new tab). There’s seating for about 20 people, but an all-day laptop farm this is not.

This has been an unusual year for coffee, with tariffs and a drought in Brazil causing dramatic fluctuations in prices, plus industry behemoth Starbucks abruptly shuttered more than a half-dozen locations across San Francisco last month. Olga Sobal is undimmed by macroeconomics. “This is what we wanted to do, and we really care,” she says.

San Francisco’s coffee community has already taken notice. Over espresso martinis at Hedge’s preview party earlier this month, Better Half Coffee (opens in new tab) owner-operator Joshua Kaplowitz said people had long been asking him where they can drink Hedge. “This is the definition of highly anticipated,” he said, “A chance for people to actually come enjoy the vibes — a true third space.”