Project Reo Collective

We were unable to attend their grand opening last June 24th...

Instead, I went several days letter while doing errands solo...

Reo Drive is one of the main streets in Paradise Hills. As you head north from the bottom to the top of Reo Drive, you will see these businessesacross the street (nearest cross street is Allegheny). The Paradise Hills post office is also there.


Across the street is the newest coffee shop in the South Bay, Project Reo Collective. Owned by several local families, their goal is to provide coffee to the community and serve as a creative space for art, music and for gathering. I was privileged to meet one of the owners, Enrique Lugo (aka chikle), an educator as well as an artist.


The painted signage is from Grand Prestoz, a graphic design company whose work you have undoubtedly seen ALL OVER San Diego (Heartwork Coffee, Dark Horse, Banana Dang Coffee, Holy Matcha, The Tap Room...the list goes on. Any hipster spot with painted signage was most likely done by this company.

Let's go in shall we...

Their menu is concise. They serve coffee, cold brew, iced tea and hot tea plus hot chocolate. There are a few pastries available (none during my first visit). They only have paper cups. The space is small and there is no public bathroom.  There are a few tables inside and outside plus bar height seating inside and outside as well. The walls were currently serving as a mini art gallery which featured work by local artists, including Glow (Gloria Muriel) and MaryJhun Dandan, the owner himself and his wife.





Decor were vintage coffee cans which I thought was a very clever and cool idea.



The cup features the twin hills of Paradise Hills.

This was the dulce de canela made with house made vanilla syrup and cinnamon. I wasn't sure what to expect here but I have to say that the barista did a great job with this drink. It was frothy, light and smooth.

I loved it and that's saying a lot because I normally don't like cinnamon. The drink was also drinkable and not burn your mouth off hot.

Merch:

They have their own lot...the windows can be raised or lowered depending on the weather.


I visited once again a few days later, this time with Cathy of mmm-yoso.

This was my Vanilla latte, which came with latte art. Like the dulce de canela, the temperature of the drink was perfect. I could drink this without fear of burning my mouth and still enjoy the coffee.


This was Cathy's Reo latte - her drink was as well made and great tasting as mine.

Beans are from Costco; the brand is Gavina.  I was pleasantly surprised about this as I wasn't sure if they were using local roasters. Perhaps this is also how they keep the costs down using these beans. In any case, the drinks were well made and we both enjoyed our morning coffee.

My more recent visit was on July the 4th, this time with Bert and TC.

This was Bert's Mexican mocha - no foam art and served hotter than the drinks I had a week prior.

Their July 4th special for the kids was cotton candy soda (with housemade whip and pop rocks). I asked if they could put that topping on a coffee drink and the barista obliged. He made a white mocha and topped it with aforementioned sweet stuff. Looks pretty but was sickeningly too sweet for me to enjoy.


TC ended up eating the whipped cream and pop rock off my coffee.  Underneath, it was pink.

TC's Mexican hot chocolate:


Her drink had a nice flavor to it...

I ordered another drink, the Reo latte, since my drink was way too sweet. It looked different and was served super hot which was kind of disappointing.  Maybe it was because they were busier and the barista was in a hurry? I don't know but maybe this was an off day or something.

I totally love the ambiance here. The owner is super nice and the customers too! Everyone is pretty much local with an ethnically mixed crowd. That's what I like.  It's about time they had a good coffee shop down south. Plus, they play awesome music, none of that sensitive songwriter folksinger bullshit. This was the Cure, the Smiths, Morrissey during my first visit. During my second visit, it was old school 70's motown and soul mixed in with some reggae (my sis would love that).

Drone video of their grand opening (I saw one of my friends in the video!):


Project Reo Collective
2335 Reo Drive., Suite 6
San Diego, CA 92139

www.projctreoco.com + the (so far) sparse reviews on yelp

Even though I did not grow up in Paradise Hills, this coffee shop is still part of the South Bay which I identify with.  I'm happy to spend my money here rather than a corporate coffee shop.  Looking forward to going through the rest of their menu.