Coffee and Service Come First as La Prima Espresso Grows in Pittsburgh

The new La Prima location is in the Oakland neighborhood. All images courtesy of La Prima Espresso.

Longstanding Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based coffee company La Prima Espresso just opened its fifth cafe, returning to a neighborhood it last served more than 20 years ago.

The new cafe in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood opened next door to Sciulli’s Pizza, a local institution of Italian-American culinary flair that’s been open for 45 years. Occupying a corner location within the same red brick building, the 37-year-old coffee company’s newest shop spans nearly 1,000 square feet, welcoming customers with La Prima’s signature blue and white color scheme, wood floors and vintage-style espresso signage.

Among those customers is a strong contingent of students and staff at Carlow University, located directly across the street. The coffee company previously served the Carlow crowd through the former Cafe Zio, which closed in the early 2000s. Back then, the cafe was near another local culinary institution, Essie’s Original Hot Dog Shop — a.k.a. “The O” — which has also since closed.

Inside the new La Prima location.

“We’re excited to welcome students back into Oakland and share this new space with the community,” La Prima Espresso Director Retail Adrianna Moyer told Daily Coffee News. “We have an absolutely fantastic team working at this new location. They’re passionate, they’re knowledgeable, they enjoy espresso, they enjoy the conversation and connection that comes with service.”

The Oakland coffee shop combines interior elements of multiple other La Prima locations, including the tile counter and modern furniture similar to the downtown location on Smallman Street, and the no-frills layout of the flagship La Prima cafe in the Strip district.

“We wanted people to feel like this was their neighborhood shop — a place they’re always welcome, a place to greet friends and meet coworkers on their way into work,” Moyer said. “This balance of fresh and bright plus homey and comfortable is right where we aim to be. We also have two locations on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus, so being in Oakland right next to Carlow and right down the road from Pitt feels very comfortable for us.”

La Prima Espresso President Sam Patti founded the company in 1988, focusing on equipment sales and service with a “working showroom” that doubled as a public coffee bar. Patti continues to oversee operations, which involve the five branded cafes, a North Side production roastery called the “torrefazione” and the equipment business.

Across all bars, baristas turn to Fetco machines for batches of drip brew, grinders made by Mazzer and Nuova Simonelli espresso machines.

“Each [location] has its own spark. However, the goal is always that you receive the same high-quality product — whether that’s a bag of whole bean coffee, a shot of espresso, or an iced latte — at any location you stop in at,” said Moyer. “Similarly, we take great pride in our team of baristas. They really know what they’re doing behind the bar, and we see them going the extra mile for our customers on a consistent basis.”

La Prima Head Roaster Chuck Connors takes the lead on the company’s Loring S35 Kestrel machine, working with green coffees sourced through importers such as Royal New York and woman-owned Colombian coffee producer Mina Rica.

“We look for high-quality coffees that have the versatility to work as a blend component as well as a stand alone offering,” Connors told DCN. ” As many of our blends are year-round offerings, it is important for our sourcing partners to be able to consistently provide such coffees.”

In addition to opening coffee shop number five, the company is making some renovations to its roastery and warehouse.

“We’re excited to have a space that will give us a little more room to stretch out, as well as provide more opportunities for training and barista engagement,” said Moyer.

La Prima Espresso Co. Oakland is located at 3400 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh.

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