Mostra: Quite the Performance

WHA had the pleasure of “performing”, alongside the owners of Mostra Coffee, to create their first brick and mortar shop. Tenant improvement projects always produce tantalizing and tangible before and after sensations, where a vision becomes a view and ideation becomes installation. This 1,247 SF renovation is the product of an overflow of attention and demand for Mostra’s unique brews and blends of fair trade specialty coffee.

Mostra is the Italian word for show or performance and the owners are dedicated to giving their best performance. The design and atmosphere of the cafe set the stage and tone for them to act. And act they did – on January 20th, Mostra opened its doors in the Carmel Mountain Ranch neighborhood of northeast San Diego.

The shop’s interior backdrop of an English Industrial-style mimics the quality and process of Mostra’s operation. The industrial feel speaks to the technology and energy involved in producing quality coffee and to the global efforts to procure the best ingredients. Meanwhile, the details of the English ambiance evoke a refined sense of craftsmanship. Together, they produce a feeling of intimacy and casual familiarity, one where the customer is allowed into the workspace, like being welcomed into the artist’s studio, not just the display gallery. The two encompass a composed global effort that begins at the coffee plant and finishes at the foam-and-milk leaf adorning the cup set in your hands.

Staying true to their locally-grown ideals, the shop resides in the same neighborhood where the owners were raised. Their efforts, exhibited within, display the marks of local resources including the mural, the calligraphy, the cup design, and the inclusion of several bakeries and breweries to accompany their coffee.

WHA can help you realize your design aspirations and business performances as well – we can turn your vision into a view. Let’s head to Mostra, grab a cup of coffee, and talk it through.