Samantha Nawrocki, co-owner of Manzanita Roasting Co. and Coffee House, has several reasons for expanding her business into Ramona from its base in Rancho Bernardo and Escondido.
Ramona is a growing town that’s becoming more popular with tourists and is ready for locally roasted craft coffee, she said.
In addition, her sister, Selena Roberts has lived in the town for the past 35 years.
And the vintage 1920s-era building Nawrocki and her husband, Weston, selected for their third Manzanita Roasting Co. coffee shop fits the unique vibe of its other two locations. The Escondido Manzanita Roasting is in the Grand building next to the historic Ritz theater, and the Rancho Bernardo location is at Bernardo Winery.
“Ramona is just another extension of our business – we decided, let’s go up the mountain,” Nawrocki said. “The community is ready for us and we’re ready for the community.”
Nawrocki is excited about the idea of transforming the interior of the 100-year-old residential building at 947 D St., which is near the Ramona archway sign, into a quaint ’20s-style venue.
“The house is perfect for our brand,” she said. “I don’t like strip malls.”
The Nawrockis started running a coffee roasting enterprise in Rancho Bernardo in 2015. Their goal was to roast coffee for wholesale clients. Then they expanded by opening their Rancho Bernardo cafe in 2018. The roastery is still directly behind the cafe.
Courtesy Brant Bender
Weston and Samantha Nawrocki plan to expand their Manzanita coffee shops in Escondido and Rancho Bernardo with a Ramona location in late July or early August. They are shown here roasting their own coffee beans. (Courtesy Brant Bender)
As their business was gaining momentum with national award-winning coffees, the couple decided to open an Escondido shop at 301 E. Grand Ave. in 2020 – just as the pandemic was getting underway. That put the brakes on their service model, but only temporarily, Samantha Nawrocki said.
She had an ace up her sleeve with a side gig as Bernardo Winery’s marketing director. Local media got behind the marketing buzz of Manzanita Roasting and helped its revival, she said. As a family member of the Rizzo family that owns Bernardo Winery, she’s aiming to put her marketing skills to work again by promoting the 100-year anniversary of her family’s ownership of the winery next year, she said.
In the meantime, plans for a Ramona location are going full throttle with the county, she said. The Nawrockis hope to open in late July or early August.
“We’ll build an outdoor dining area and have lots of seating,” Nawrocki said. “We’ll have a nice outdoor garden. All of our shops have an impact on people — they’re really pretty.”
Along with experience and awards, Weston Nawrocki has the credentials to make the food and beverages sparkle. He’s a high-end, French-Canadian trained chef and a WSET Level 3 Sommelier who received Wine & Spirit Education Trust training.
“He has a really good palate and wants everything high-quality and made from scratch, even our flavored drinks,” his wife said.
In addition to their handcrafted coffee and coffee flavors – that brew assorted hot or iced lattes, cappuccinos and Americanos – the couple plan to package their tea leaves in tea bags and offer smoothies and lemonade at the Ramona location. The menu will also feature breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast in addition to hot-pressed paninis and bagel sandwiches.
“We’ll source as many local ingredients for our food items as we can,” Samantha Nawrocki said. “It will be really fun. We want to be another place for the community to come together and have good food and drinks.”
The Nawrockis said they are eager to get involved in the community by joining the Ramona Chamber of Commerce and hosting fundraisers for area schools. They envision live music and makers markets that sell artisan products, along with a job fair to kick-off their Ramona opening.
The store’s initial hours will be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
“Some customers who live in Ramona are excited to come to us,” Samantha Nawrocki said. “We want to be able to serve people in the Ramona community on their way to work, and during the day and on their commute home.
“We thought the time was right and we’re excited to introduce Ramona to Manzanita,” she added.