A customer looked up from the Friday paper and was served his coffee. “Oh! Table service,” said the customer, surprised as he took his coffee. Owner Damian Serafine let out a hearty chuckle as he made his way back behind the counter.
Serafine focuses his presence not only on the business side of his shop but also on his customers’ comfort and sense of community.
Over a one hour time period Serafine greeted six other regulars, engaging in light conversation while his hands were busy making the coffee they didn’t even need to order.
One Coffee Co., located on Central Avenue between Washington and Adams streets in downtown Phoenix, offers more than just a great cup of coffee.
The cafe is decorated tastefully with solid colored walls, warm lighting and plenty of seating. There are individual tables, couches and chairs as well as a patio facing Central Avenue. It is apparent customers are encouraged to hang out, sip some coffee and enjoy the artfully selected music.
Cat Stevens and Elton John joined me as I enjoyed a cappuccino and a grilled chicken panini. The rosemary focaccia bread was baked at the local Chompie’s N.Y. Style Delicatessen and the tomatoes were grown at a local farm.
“If you don’t support the local community, your city is not a city,” Serafine said. “It is a giant strip mall.”
The walls are decorated with photography from local artists that are rotated periodically and a community board with postings of local events.
Serafine’s masterpiece is a unique blend that is roasted in-house from beans that originate from countries all over the world including Guatemala and Colombia. He worked for 15 years to perfect his “Sofia’s blend,” which is named after his daughter.
“It’s about really good coffee,” Serafine said. “That’s the main thing.”
The Spanish Mocha is a fall special and an interesting alternative to the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Made with a dash of cayenne pepper, this cup sends a warm tingle of spice to the back of the throat after every sip.
“Working with Damian is different,” said employee and journalism freshman Brandi Porter. “He is very precise and wants everything perfect.”
Serafine grew up in restaurants with his family. It comes as no surprise that he worked his way up in the coffee world to earn the title “Master Roaster” in New York by the Roasters Guild of America.
He opened the first coffee house downtown in 1994. “No one even knew what a cappuccino was,” he said.
Serafine’s coffee career started in Java Joe’s, his cousin’s coffee shop in New York. In 1994 he took off in his car with $500 dollars in his pocket and Phoenix on his mind. He landed a job at Coffee Plantation in the Biltmore Fashion Park where he met future business partner Daniel Wayne.
The duo branched off and invested in the first coffee cart downtown had ever seen. However, business was slow. Parked off of Central, selling five coffees a day wasn’t cutting it.
A break came in 1995 when they were approached by an Aramark associate and were subcontracted to sell coffee in the Phoenix Convention Center. From there, they opened coffee carts in the Herberger Theater Center, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Symphony Hall and even opened up a full-service coffee shop in the historic Hotel San Carlos.
In 1999, the team split. Wayne went on to open Lola Coffee and Serafine to One Coffee Co.
“I always thought of it as an experience,” Serafine said.
One Coffee Co. was created with a little cafe in Milan in mind. The goal was a space with a relaxed feel that was clean at the same time.
It is a place that encapsulates a feeling of “going back to the roots,” Serafine said. “These are the places you remember.”
Contact the reporter at domenico.nicosia@asu.edu
