Downtown Davis is trading one caffeine heavyweight for another, but this time the beans are coming from closer to home. Camellia Coffee Roasters, the Sacramento roastery-and-cafe known for house-roasted beans and made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, is moving into the former Peet’s space on E Street and gearing up to turn it into a neighborhood counter. The swap trades a national chain outpost for a local roaster in the tight downtown core.
As reported by the Sacramento Business Journal, Camellia has locked in its Davis lease and is stepping beyond its existing Sacramento footprint. The Davis shop will be the roaster’s second walk-in cafe, adding a retail presence to its wholesale and production operations.
From Sacramento To Davis
Owners Rob Watson and Ryan Harden launched Camellia in 2016 and built it from a small wholesale roastery into a street-level cafe on R Street in Sacramento, according to Camellia Coffee Roasters. The brand leans hard on quality and consistency, running a production roastery alongside a focused cafe menu. The Sacramento counter currently keeps roughly 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours.
A Downtown Corner Changing Hands
Wendy Weitzel’s Comings & Goings reports that Peet’s shut down its downtown Davis location at 231 E St. at the end of January and that the windows are currently papered while the new tenant works inside. Peet’s own store listing also places the former shop at 231 E St., confirming the address for the incoming Camellia.
When To Expect It
Watson told Comings & Goings via email that the team “hope to have the Davis cafe open next month,” noting that because the site was already operating as a cafe, they are not expecting a long build-out. If that timeline holds, Camellia will join a small but growing roster of local roasters and independents stepping into spaces once held by national chains in the city’s core.
For students, downtown workers and nearby residents who have watched chains scale back, Camellia’s arrival will bring a local-first option to E Street and could shake up the morning and lunchtime routine along that stretch. A confirmed opening date and menu details are still to come; we will update when the company makes those plans public.