Saint Frank Roastery

The fourth location in the Saint Frank family, the Saint Frank Roastery in SOMA is the industrial heart of the business. All of the Saint Frank and Saint Clare coffee beans are roasted in this space, which is fronted by a café and offers weekly cuppings and coffee flights.

The original space was very rough and is potentially a temporary location, so the challenges were twofold: To create a bright, clean aesthetic in keeping with the style of the other Saint Frank spaces without undertaking extensive renovation; and to make all of the furnishings easily removable in case of relocation.

DBA_Inside designed a flexible interior for the 1600-square-foot space, including tables, shelving, a custom coffee bar, and work tables all built by DBA_Workshop. The industrial history of the space was preserved by maintaining the existing hardwood floors and exposed ceilings, which offer striking contrast to the new white furniture and sleek fixtures. 

The comfortable 500-square-foot café in front balances the industrial aspects of the working roastery to the rear. DBA_Workshop’s custom designs include the round white-oak table tops on powder-coated bases, and tall white-oak-and-steel work tables for tastings and other tasks.

The coffee bar was built on casters and was designed to fit out through the front door in an easy move as necessary. The CNC-routered bar evokes a tiled design without adding weight to the portable piece.

Color was added with the Muuto Nerd chairs and stools, the same used at Saint Frank at Facebook. The space also features a custom mural of Babette’s Feast by Dana Tanamachi.