A First Sip of Encinitas' New Sugar Coffee & Tea

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Set into a corner suite of a former 1950's motel, on the Encinitas stretch of historic Highway 101, is the new Sugar Coffee & Tea. Its owners, Hiromi Kimura and Ryan Bertsch, also operate North County's Kaito Sushi, one of the spots on our essential Eater 38 list.

Kimura, a Carlsbad resident, told Eater that the impetus for Kaito came from the desire to have a sushi restaurant of quality in close proximity, so she found master sushi chef Kazuo Morita, who has helped Kaito distinguish itself from the pack. The same is true for Sugar; they're exclusively using beans from their favorite boutique coffee roaster, ZUMBAR Coffee, in Sorrento Valley.

The couple's already planning to open a second coffeehouse in Carlsbad, but for now, this 26 seat café is currently open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They're in talks with a local French patisserie to supply desserts to the shop, and Kimura is baking her own cookies and pastries, and perfecting a selection of savory Japanese breads.
· Sugar Coffee & Tea [Facebook]
· All Opening Reports on Eater San Diego [~ESD~]