A typical working day in the bustling La Jolla business district likely entails frequent runs to grab caffeinated morning or midday pick-me-ups, quick snack fixes and to-go lunches to keep hard-working professionals energized during the daily grind. Instead of trading gourmet coffee and quality food for the company coffee pot or nearest fast food joint, one option is Latte by the Sea — a centrally-located, one-stop-shop on 7855 Ivanhoe Ave. — to pick up some fresh coffee and healthy, locally sourced fare. The kiosk offers much more than one might expect from a typical coffee stand: hot paninis, soups and breakfast burritos; hot, iced or blended gourmet coffee concoctions; and healthy juices, smoothies, salads and wraps, to name a few. All of the goodies available at the stand are locally sourced right from San Diego’s own backyard, including coffee blends from Cafe Moto — a division of the former longstanding parent company Pannikin Coffee & Tea — all-natural vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free soups from Decker Brothers in Pacific Beach, and gourmet paninis and wraps from Feast On This, a local catering company that utilizes a revolutionary communication system to enable deaf employees, like Feast On This owner Matthew Baker, to communicate with clients. Area locals have been trickling out from nearby office buildings or the Wall Street post office to get their hot and healthy meal fix, fresh, nutritious fruit drinks, or any of the coffee cart’s varieties of gourmet coffees, lattes and espresso blends since owner John Christofferson opened the spot in May last year. Christofferson’s career background was not one that was at all associated with coffee, aside from his self-proclaimed addiction to caffeinated beverages. The venture came about, he said, in the way perhaps many new business ventures have started over the last few years — a change of career prompted by the loss of a job. “My history is in software design, mainly for medical devices, in the last 10 or 15 years,” he said. “My job got outsourced to India with a bunch of other people here, and I thought, ‘What am I going to do at my age?’” After a visit to France in 2000 with his wife, he took note of the high quality of coffee he encountered at every turn. “Even on the train the coffee was good,” he said. “I realized that maybe that’s what I should try to do, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it. I meet a lot of people and really enjoy talking with them.” Christofferson’s previous career in the software industry was one that was solitary, stifling his personable character. “I really enjoy this. You wear a lot of different hats,” he said. “Why didn’t I do this earlier? This would have been a lot more fun.” Part of the success of the coffee cart comes from that enthusiasm — and that of his employees. Just like a La Jolla version of “Cheers,” the baristas behind the counter get to know customers’ names and drink orders, and repeat customers can collect stamps for free drinks on a drink card, held at the counter. For the chance to win additional free items, the cart holds a business-card raffle each Friday. Christofferson’s rapid learning curve in the coffee business was not without a bit of help. UCSD graduate and 13-year coffee shop owner Melanie Baird has been Christofferson’s right-hand gal for coffee consulting. “I’ve been working with him for a year and a half now. He uses me for tastings and I do all the fliers. I just share my knowledge with him basically,” Baird said. “We try to teach everyone the exact same, so when people come they always have the same experience with people who are positive, smiling, happy and ask how you like your coffee. We take our time to interview really good people who really want to be here and try to build it up.” Christofferson, Baird and the ladies behind the counter are always attentive to what their customers want, even changing or adding menu items at customers’ requests. “We try to focus on very healthy snacks-to-go that keep you going throughout the day. In this area, people are very health conscious. They work out all the time and eat healthy,” Baird said. “There’s not really another coffee cart out there in La Jolla like this.” Latte by the Sea is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with happy hour specials from 2 to 3 p.m. and regular tastings throughout the month. Christofferson owns another cafe inside Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside and has plans for another San Diego location in the future.
