Equator to Open First San Francisco Location in Historic Warfield Building

The Warfield Building, built in 1922.

Equator Coffees & Teas is continuing to expand its retail presence, with plans to open its first San Francisco shop inside the historic Warfield building at 986 Market Street, between 5th and 6th Streets.

“This is the perfect location for Equator’s San Francisco debut,” Equator said in an announcement yesterday, noting the Warfield building and theater’s rich history as a music and performance venue, from Louis Armstrong to The Grateful Dead to Lisa Lampanelli (next weekend). Equator describes the location as “at the heart” of the city’s most quickly evolving sector.

(related: These Stunning Coffee Maps of Brooklyn, San Francisco and Cambridge Are Just the Beginning)

This will be the third retail shop for the company — owned by Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell — which went nearly two decades sourcing and roasting coffee without a branded retail presence. Equator opened inside Mill Valley’s Proof Lab Surf Shop in 2013, and the company is currently operating a pop-up shop outside the former La Coppa space in downtown Mill Valley, with the full brick-and-mortar shop to open later this year.

The San Francisco bar will be designed by local Boor Bridges Architecture, which has done some incredible coffee retail design work, including Equator’s Proof Lab shop, Sightglass’s newest 20th Street location and The Mill, a joint venture between Four Barrel and Josey Baker Bread.

Equator at Proof Lab, designed by Boor Bridges Architecture. Photo by Boor Bridges Architecture.