SLO Public Market just added new cafe with ‘amazing coffee.’ Cocktails are next, owner says
Step into the San Luis Obispo Public Market and you’ll find ample eating options, including fried chicken, pizza, burgers and tacos.
Until recently, however, the food hall at 3845 South Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo lacked a coffee shop.
That changed when Twenty South opened at SLO Public Market on Nov. 20
Twenty South owner Andre Gorham II said he noticed a lack of caffeine options when visiting the food hall in September and decided to move quickly to open the cafe.
The sunny space features abstract art on the walls, a few plants and a hardwood breakfast bar, tables and an outdoor patio where patrons can sip on drinks and munch on small bites.
About six weeks after it opened, Gorham said the cafe is still a work in progress.
As of Friday, Jan. 3, the cafe didn’t have any signage and a portion of its menu had not been finalized.
However, he said alcoholic offerings were in the works after the business received its liquor license in December.
“I know the direction that I want us to keep going, which is offering amazing coffee, which we’re doing; having amazing food, which we’re doing,” and pouring great cocktails in the future, he said.
“We’re trying to be the neighborhood cafe and bar,” Gorham said.
New coffee shop opens at SLO Public Market
Gorham moved to San Luis Obispo in 2020 and immediately integrated himself into the expansive local coffee shop scene.
He worked as a manager at Kreuzberg California in downtown San Luis Obispo for a couple years before moving on to a position at Field Day Coffee, also in San Luis Obispo.
Twenty South is his first time working in a public market setting, he said, adding that the transition has been smooth so far with business picking up day by day.
“It’s a super unique project,” Gorham said. “We didn’t come into it with a lot of forethought. We just happened to build it as we go.”
He viewed the first weeks of business as a learning experience that allowed him to figure out what SLO Public Market customers are seeking.
“I love watching how people interact with the space, and so I wanted to see how it plays out,” he said.
What’s on the drink and food menu at new restaurant?
Twenty South sources all of its coffee beans from Black and White Coffee Roasters in Raleigh, North Carolina, Gorham told The Tribune.
“They have stuff you just don’t see in other coffee shops,” Gorham said, calling it a roasting company with “ a lot of range.”
Twenty South’s menu features espresso and coffee drinks including cappucinos, cortados and cold brews, as well as loose leaf teas and hot chocolate.
“I really wanted to provide San Luis Obispo exposure to different types of coffee,” he said.
Besides drinks, the cafe sells breakfast and lunch items ranging from quiche and avocado toast to a fig-and-prosciutto sandwich and a mango salmon salad.
One of the menu highlights is a “phenomenal” breakfast scramble with eggs, bacon, potatoes and seasonal veggies, Gorham said. It comes with a side of sourdough bread.
According to Twenty South’s instagram page, the cafe will be serving up cocktails as soon as Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Gorham said the cocktails will feature a range of liquors and flavors, with some non-alcoholic options for sober customers or those participating in Dry January.
What are new cafe’s open hours?
You can visit Twenty South at Suite 114 at SLO Public Market, 3845 South Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo
The new coffee shop is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
However, the business may be open later once cocktails are introduced, Gorham said.
For more information, visit TwentySouth.co or go to the SLO Public Market website.
