Berkeley, Calif., May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
Key Takeaways:
- Sightglass Coffee, a beloved San Francisco institution, is opening a new café in Berkeley on May 7, 2026, marking its first new café in six years and its first Bay Area opening in nearly a decade.
- The new Berkeley café will be located at 2169 University Ave., at the corner of University and Oxford, on the ground floor of UC Berkeley’s Helen Diller Anchor House, where a portion of the café’s rent supports housing and scholarships for transfer students.
- The opening will be marked by the debut of Grizzly Peak Blend, a Regenerative Organic Certified® coffee, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Berkeley’s Edible Schoolyard Project.
- Sightglass continues to build on its reputation as a pioneer of San Francisco’s modern coffee movement, known for small-batch roasting and direct relationships with coffee producers worldwide.
- This opening represents a major milestone for Sightglass, signaling renewed expansion and a deeper investment in the Bay Area specialty coffee community.
- The café is designed in collaboration with Lundberg Design, one of San Francisco’s most respected architecture firms, and one of the final projects led by founder Olle Lundberg.
- Sightglass aims to create a welcoming, community-driven space for students, faculty, and neighbors, reinforcing its role as a gathering place as much as a coffee destination.
- The Berkeley location will feature a curated food program, including pastries from Sunday Bakeshop and offerings from George’s Donuts & Merriment, with additional local partnerships to be announced.
- The café’s location within UC Berkeley’s Anchor House reflects a broader focus on community and inclusivity, specifically supporting transfer students and campus life.
Sightglass Coffee, the San Francisco-based specialty coffee pioneer known for small-batch roasting and close relationships with growers, will open a new café in Berkeley on May 7, serving a full menu of high-quality espresso beverages alongside a rotating selection of blends and single-origin coffees. The Berkeley cafe marks Sightglass’s first new location in six years — since its Los Angeles expansion in 2020 — and its first Bay Area opening in nearly a decade. As part of the Helen Diller Anchor House model, a portion of the café’s rent will support the building’s mission, helping fund housing and scholarships for UC Berkeley transfer students.
Located at 2169 University Ave., on the corner of University and Oxford, the new café occupies the ground floor of UC Berkeley’s Helen Diller Anchor House, a dynamic residential development designed to support and enhance the transfer student experience. The space is positioned to become a daily ritual for students, faculty, and neighbors alike—offering a welcoming environment to gather, recharge, and connect over some of the Bay Area’s most exceptional coffee. The development is specifically designed to support transfer students, who make up a significant portion of UC Berkeley’s undergraduate population and often face added challenges in building community and navigating the transition into campus life.
“Our new Berkeley cafe is an expression of the city’s long history of social justice, from the location itself, which has giving back baked into its business model, to our first Regenerative Organic Certified blend and our partnership with the iconic Edible Schoolyard,” said Sharon Healy. “Supporting the Berkeley community and its commitment to impact is especially meaningful to me and Sightglass. It’s more than just a great new location for our brand.”
A beloved San Francisco coffee destination since 2009, Sightglass has built a reputation for sourcing and roasting high-quality coffees. In celebration of the Berkeley opening, Sightglass will debut its first Regenerative Organic Certified® coffee, Grizzly Peak Blend. Inspired by Berkeley’s role in shaping progressive food culture, Grizzly Peak, which is named for Berkeley’s iconic scenic route with outstanding views of the entire Bay Area, reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to thoughtful sourcing, environmental stewardship and Bay Area coffee culture. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Edible Schoolyard Project, a Berkeley-based nonprofit focused on food education and access.
The café was designed in collaboration with Lundberg Design, a widely admired San Francisco-based architecture firm known for its modern, finely crafted spaces that respond thoughtfully to their surroundings. Notably, the Berkeley café was one of the final projects led by founder Olle Lundberg prior to his passing in late 2025, lending the space added significance for the Sightglass team.
In addition to its full coffee menu, the Berkeley location will feature a curated food program, including freshly made pastries from Sunday Bakeshop, donuts and hot food from George’s Donuts & Merriment, with additional hyper-local collaborations to be announced.
About Sightglass Coffee
Founded in San Francisco in 2009, Sightglass Coffee is a California-based specialty coffee roaster recognized as a pioneer of the city’s modern coffee movement, helping shape contemporary café culture through small-production roasting and direct relationships with producers worldwide. Sightglass is committed to genuine partnerships in sourcing and roasting, offering quality premiums for fresh-harvest lots that prioritize sustainability and flavor. Sightglass operates multiple café locations throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles. For more information, please visit https://sightglasscoffee.com/.