It’s like discovering a delicious secret when you find out about Heave Ho Coffee Co, the new coffee speakeasy — the first of its kind in Coronado, which opened in late December. Although there are a dozen places to get a cup of java on the island, this hidden gem is tucked behind the URT store at 1019 C Avenue.
With an unassuming nature like its owner, Heave Ho is the brainchild of Patrick Erskine, who was raised in Coronado in a military family with seven kids. He grew up surfing, playing water polo, eating burritos at Clayton’s Mexican Take-out and graduated from CHS in 2012. He is cousins and best friends with URT’s owner Ian Urtnowski.
From an early age, Patrick remembers helping his mom in the kitchen. By 12, he was grilling meat for family meals with his mom loving the help and his family enjoying the delicious food. For a birthday treat, he was most delighted when his mom would take him to an Asian market, to select ingredients to whip up new culinary creations. “I’m not much of a recipe guy. Working in kitchens long enough has given me the knowledge to create dishes from my head,” he reveals.
His siblings all went into the military and/or medical fields, but he pursued his passion and attended culinary school. Following in the footsteps of his culinary heroes like Anthony Bourdain and Thomas Keller, he spent six months in France as a “stagiaire,” an apprenticeship to gain culinary knowledge for room and board.
Returning to Coronado in 2014, he worked as a sous chef at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Steakhouse. Wanting to expand his horizons, he was a restaurant consultant in China for a few months, where he helped with menus, layouts, and sourcing hard-to-find ingredients to start an American-style steakhouse there. Landing back in Coronado, he shares, “I thought I needed a rich person to help fund a start-up business, but I discovered that I could self-fund it and be successful on my own.”
Having always loved a good cup of coffee coupled with his passion for ingredients, he landed on coffee as his business of choice and discovered he had a lot to learn. He visited farms around the world to acquire knowledge about the different coffee bean varieties and how they are harvested. With an endless number of details to create the perfect cup of coffee, it took a year to get Heave Ho up and running.
“There are so many varieties, from floral to chocolate to nutty and so many other flavor profiles, I had to figure out my signature blends,” he notes. Starting by roasting coffee beans in his backyard, he sold them to family and friends. The business has since grown, with subscription and commercial accounts, a large roastery and recently renovated café in Chula Vista, and now the coffee speakeasy in Coronado.
I was interested to learn that different areas have a preferred flavor profile. He has visited almost every coffee shop in the county and many others while on vacation. Patrick discovered he likes South American coffee, mixed with Colombian coffee beans for texture, to create a second wave nostalgic flavor. He has also found that this is the most popular blend for palettes in Coronado and the South Bay. His espresso blend is 50 percent Brazilian and Colombian beans.
Heave Ho flavors include their most popular Flag Ship roast, which features a blend of 75 percent Guatemalan coffee and 25 percent Honduras beans; and the Kraken French Roast is preferred by the military. The light roast Light House, dark roast Black Flag, Glass-Off Decaf, and New Cold Brew Roast are also favorites. Coffee beans are sourced from all over the world including South America, Mexico, Africa, and Asia.
“We strive for simplicity with high standards,” he says, and the brew menu includes macchiatos, cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, dirty chai, nitro options, and coffee soda. Bagged coffee is available and can also be ordered off the website and shipped free to locals. An added bonus is the delicious plain, chocolate, and almond croissants homemade by Patrick and his sister-in-law Jane Erskine. It takes two days to make these flaky, mouthwatering delicacies and just minutes to devour.
“For me, the joy is getting to know customers, rather than just being behind the scenes in the kitchen. I’m striving to make people happy by building community through the power of one ingredient – coffee,” he emphasizes; and says they have already cultivated a growing community of locals, military, firemen, policemen, lifeguards, families. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge when people ask questions.
An outdoor seating area is in the works and should be completed by spring so locals, from moms with strollers to seniors, can enjoy a superior cup of coffee in a relaxed environment. He hopes that customers will be so impressed with Heave Ho coffee that they will take a bag home to enjoy the same great quality in their favorite comfy chair.
“We pride ourselves on being less expensive than other quality roasters. Our mission is to bring amazing coffee to people,” Patrick highlights. Heave Ho Coffee is open seven days a week, from 8 am to 2 pm, with plans to open earlier in the near future. The secret is to use the side entrance before the URT store is open, and then you can enter through the store during URT’s business hours.
For more information, check out heavehocoffeeco.com.
