College, Coffee, and Kindness: Tori’s origin Story

Oct 26

It’s a nice sunny afternoon on the day of Tori’s third pop-up. Despite it being the last Sunday of September, it still felt like summertime in San Francisco instead of autumn. A minute's walk away from the 24th Mission BART station, I reached the hosts’ apartment and rang the doorbell, hidden between the corners of the square tiled wall. One of Club Rambutan’s photographers, Ricky Chen, greeted me at the door and welcomed me to take our shoes off and come in.

Up a steep flight of stairs and down the hallway was where the magic of Tori’s resides. Sunlight peeks through the living space windows as the vinyl record plays, with many other records sitting in the queue waiting to be spun. Amongst all the talking and tunes, guests can order an in-house specialty drink or snack at a table by the kitchen.

I recommend the Einspeinner: creamy and foamy at the top, and a delicious drink to down. They also made hojicha lattes, brimming with the roasted tea flavors that complement the coming autumn. Cheese bread and cinnamon rolls were also up for grabs. The savory bread is soft and fluffy with cheese chunks folded inside, and the sweet rolls are perfectly decadent with a light glaze on top. With plenty of space to stand and sit, we chattered on about our weekends, flipped through the coffee table books, and waited for our orders to come.

After the dust had settled, the table and chairs rearranged, and the apartment back in order, I sat down with the three housemates – Felix Fuentes, Josh Alvarez, and Ricky Chen – to learn the origins of how Tori’s came about, some of their favorite stories, and the future of their pop-up.

Check out Club Rambutan’s interview below.