Lift Coffee Roasters celebrated its one-year anniversary Aug. 8. There was free coffee, food trucks, live music and competitions to keep those in attendance interested.
The party featured indie-rockers In Transit and From Indian Lakes, who each played a set to kick off the night.
“I have a friend who works at Lift and he asked if we’d come down and play for them on our night off from our tour,” said Joey Vannucchi, frontman for From Indian Lakes.
After the bands finished, they held a contest for baristas to see who could make the best latte art. Baristas from various coffee shops had their art being projected on the wall and voted for by those watching.
The owners of Lift Coffee Roasters, Alan Andra and his business partner Steffen Sommers, said they wanted to create a hip place for people to come and enjoy community together as well as educate customers about coffee casually.
“We wanted to create a place for people to go and enjoy good coffee,” Andra said. “We lived by the beach for a few years and when we moved back to Riverside, we saw a gap in the market for a place to enjoy good coffee.”
For the event, Lift opened up its warehouse to the public and hinted at the idea that this warehouse would become a second location for them. They currently use the warehouse to roast their coffee beans and work on projects. The space is airplane-themed, consistent with the company’s logo.
“I used to work in construction, so it was easy for me to build a lot of the things we needed for Lift,” Andra said. “The counter top that looks like an airplane wing? I built that.”
