By TR Robertson
There’s a brand-new spot to stop in when you are in Downtown Historic Vista, especially if you are a coffee, tea, glass, or wine lover or just want a snack to get you through the day. Located on the street level of the Rylan Apartment building on Main Street, Archer’s Arrow Coffee House is now open for business, an Approachable Coffee. The coffee house is the dream business for Josh and Kat Barille. Josh and Kat have been involved in various capacities of the service and hospitality business for 23 years. His parents own Café Topes in Carlsbad, a popular eatery, where Josh also worked as the Kitchen Manager. He met Kat when she also worked at Café Topes. Josh occasionally can be found helping at the restaurant if needed.
Archer’s Arrow has been open for 3 months and is fast becoming a popular spot in the downtown area. They offer a wide range of coffee selections using coffee supplied by Café Virtuoso Coffee Roaster from San Diego. Their coffee is 100% certified organic specialty coffee. They also use local roasters for two-month periods. December and January will find Vigilante Coffee, from Oceanside, being served. Every coffee style is on the menu including some interesting specialty coffees. Traditional espressos, drip coffee, Americano, Latte and Cappuccino can be found on the large menu board along with coffees like Cookie Butter Mocha, Mexican Mocha, Lavender Brown Sugar Latte, Affogato (Espresso over ice cream) and Tiramisu. They also offer seasonal coffees. I had a Cinnamon coffee with vanilla that was delicious.
Coffees are offered hot or cold brews. Also on the menu board are a variety of teas from Virtuoso. One interesting one was the Amaretto Coconut Tea Latte. If tea or coffee is not what you are looking for you can order hot chocolate, orange juice or lemonade. There are pastry items offered. On Wednesdays, donuts from The Goods in Carlsbad are available. Josh’s parents also own the Goods. Some interesting looking pastries, from Glutenus Maximus Bakery on Poinsettia St. are available. What I am interested in trying are the wide variety of specialty toast products on the menu. The Loaded Avocado and the Pistachio with Honey sound delicious. There are 5 or 6 different toast items offered.
Josh and Kat had decided they wanted to open a coffee house and said they found the space they thought would be a good location located in the Rylan Apartment location on Main Street. They took classes offered by Specialty Coffee Association in San Diego, a non-profit organization. The Association offered workshops, tastings, and lectures about starting a coffee business and brewing coffees as well as the machinery and utensils that would be needed to run such a business.
Josh and Kat said they have met almost all the business owners in the downtown area and are establishing some great working relationships. He said the Rylan folks have been tremendous to work with. The Rylan buys coffee for all their residents once a month and they pour Archer’s Arrow Coffee at their coffee station inside the Rylan. Josh also said the City of Vista and the Vista Chamber of Commerce have been a tremendous help in getting their business up and running beginning with the Chamber’s ribbon cutting for their opening on September 15th. They have had a wreath building class offered at Archer’s sponsored by Crozier’s Flowers, located across the street. Recently elected Vista Mayor John Franklin stopped in and asked if he could possibly have a meeting in Archer’s and Josh responded he would love to have them stop in. Private events are available.
Archer’s Arrow has a staff of six. Josh said he interviewed around 30 individuals, looking not just for people that knew about coffee, but people who were friendly and positive and who he felt would be a good addition to their business and willing to learn about the art of serving coffee and teas. The idea behind their Approachable Coffee is offering something for people, served with an energetic attitude in great environment and a welcoming atmosphere. This is truly
“coffee brewed from the heart.”
One unique thing about Archer’s Arrow is they have an extensive wine list on the menu board with a wide variety of wines from California, New Zealand, and Italy. Josh and Kat said they offer coffee and wine education classes, wine tastings. He said as he gets to know more people in the area and more organizations, Archer’s will offer a wide variety of activities. They are even looking into adding a Trivia Day.
Archer’s Arrow Coffee House is located at 170 Main Street. They are open seven days a week – Mon.-Thurs 6 am – 4 pm, Friday 6 am – 6 pm, Saturday 7 am – 6 pm and Sunday from 7 am until noon. Their web site to see their complete menu is www.archersarrowcoffeeouse.com.
