Old Fourth Ward's Condesa Coffee is opening a second location in the Sweet Auburn district Downtown. The coffee shop will launch along the Atlanta Streetcar line in the historic Atlanta Daily World building in January 2015.
"We couldn't be happier to have found a home for our second store in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood we love, in the heart of Atlanta's history," Condesa co-owner Daniela Staiculescu said in a release. "We did not find the location. The location found us, and it was love at first sight."
Owned by Staiculescu, Amin Rida, Moe Reda, and Octavian Stan, all Georgia Tech grads, the first Condesa opened at Boulevard and Freedom Parkway in 2010. Serving Counter Culture Coffee, it has been named to national-best lists in the four years since. The new location will take up space in a building that was being considered for demolition two years ago, but is now being converted to a mixed-use development by Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate.
"The Atlanta Daily World Building has been a part of our historical fabric for over 100 years," said Gene Kansas. "From 1918 to 1935, it was home to the Virgil Coffee Company. With the proven power that coffee plays in developing community, and because of the building's legacy, I cannot think of a better use and a better group than Condesa Coffee. They have the passion and the know-how — plus really good coffee."
The Atlanta Daily World is the nation's oldest continuously running African-American newspaper. It relocated from its original home after a tornado caused significant damage to the building in 2008.
"Personally, seeing Auburn shiny and vibrant," Staiculescu said, "hearing that streetcar running by Condesa's window, and having a bunch of people sitting in our coffee shop around the table, sipping a perfectly brewed coffee and sharing ideas about something that matters to them - it makes my heart sing."