Coming along handsomely… by the looks of these pics, Handsome Coffee has come a long way with their new headquarters in Downtown LA. There are some finishing touches in place already, but, also some majors that are waiting to happen. All in all, things are looking really good for an opening (hopefully) in the next several weeks. If not a hard opening, I know some parties are in the works. I know that we talk about Handsome alot, but, you know, when you get to know these guys and their coffee, you’ll understand.

Here is a pic of the front of the cafe currently. Down at the bottom of the post, is a “before” pic from November of last year.

While all of this is happening, Jesse and Lisa are holding down the fort serving up their blend of espresso in the back of the cafe. Jesse is a master. Lisa here is learning the craft. A former lawyer turned barista, she is chasing her dream of a creative life in the coffee biz. We love dream chasers, Lisa rocks.

Matt is the GC… going through the very complex blueprints for the Handsome operation.

I wish I knew all of the details of this roaster… but, what I do know is that it’s a 1956 Probat UG22 roaster that they tracked down (after a long search) in Belgium, restored, and imported over here. Like Handsome Coffee, it has the reputation to be the best, of course.

Details like this smoking pipe are laser etched in the surface of the walls of the cafe… one of many identity icons for the Handsome brand.

Here is the “before” pic of the Handsome storefront a few months back. They’ve come a long way.