We live in difficult times right now and it is hard to keep a calm heart and mind.

But when you walk into Brew Coffee Spot in La Mesa and the first thing you see is the sign saying, “We Brew Love”, a huge sigh of relief can be heard and a load is immediately lifted from the heaviness of the day. What a great way to start the day.

“I wanted to create a place where people can get a cup of coffee and some food, sit on the patio, relax, visit, rejuvenate and let the world go by,” said Joe Paraiso, co-owner of Brew Coffee Spot. That calmness is reflected in their tag line of “Brew Love” and their logo of a smiling drop of coffee. As their website states, “Be kind and drink good stuff”.

“We want our coffee to be as fresh as possible. We roast our own coffee in small batches. We also roast on demand. You can buy our product off the shelf we have bags of fresh-roasted coffee,” Paraiso said. After many “research trips” to coffee regions in South America, Joe has found responsible growers, from small family-owned farms where he sources his Arabica coffee. Their coffee is also sold at Kiel’s Fresh Food Store and Windmill Farms. Some coffees that are on the shelves are Costa Rican Las Montanas Honey, Kenya Nyeri Rumukia, Indonesian Sumatra Mandheling, and Colombia Tinto.

Another contribution to this peacefulness is good food.

“We serve quiches, Acai bowls, scones, muffins, brownies, and breakfast burritos. We also serve gluten-free muffins and brownies. One of our unique items is the Brie and Butter Ficelle,” Paraiso continued. Ficelle is a French bread loaf similar to a baguette but thinner.

On the first Saturday of every month, the parking lot is filled with local vendors in a community market. This family-friendly market features fresh produce, seasonal goods, live music, and of course freshly brewed coffee.

Paraiso and his business partner Ralf Wilkowski love East County and wanted a place to go and hang out. La Mesa needed a place to hang out. “We wanted a shop that we’d want to go to and we love going to our shop,” Paraiso said. Give it a try, you might love going there too.

Brew Coffee Spot is located at 6101 Lake Murray Blvd. You can order online at: brewcoffeespot.com/ or by calling (619) 713-6698. They are open daily 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

– Robin Dohrn-Simpson is a local food and travel writer. Reach her at: robindohrnsimpson.com.