Ana Perez (left) a
enjoy the atmosphere
uamarme Kenriait^^M
Espresso Roma keeps on growing
■ Much needed expansion
nears completion at the fami
ly-run campus coffee house
By Amy Horton
lor the Emerald
Among the one-block strip of
East 13th Avenue crowded with
businesses catering to students,
one hot commodity is in abun
dance. On almost every corner
and in most restaurants and bak
eries on this lively stretch be
tween Alder and Kincaid streets,
coffee is served.
At first glance, the paint
chipped doorway and faded red
awning of Espresso Roma might
seem less attractive than the en
trances of other campus-area cof
fee houses that have capitalized
on the modern day espresso
craze.
Even with the addition of big
name chains like Starbucks last
year, shops like Espresso Roma,
which brings in $2,000 per day,
still attract many customers and
expansion of the business is near
ly finished to make room for
more.
The company purchased the
empty adjacent space to add 10
more tables to Espresso Roma’s
current 30, as well as a second
entrance. Miguel and Maria
Cortez, natives of Mexico who
have managed the coffee house
since 1990, said they are confi
dent there will be plenty of
customers to fill the 20 new
seats.
This marks the second ex
pansion of Espresso Roma.
Seven years ago, the company
made room for additional seat
ing in the back section of Sieg
mund’s Dry Cleaning located
next door. Boyd stressed the
importance of the current ex
pansion because of increased
competition.
The seating area is expected to
be finished within the month.
Miguel, who also manages Cafe
Sienna just five doors down,
hopes to eventually serve cold
sandwiches and juices in addi
tion to the current variety of pas
tries, muffins and cookies baked
on-site daily by Maria. Miguel
knows most people who frequent
his business “love the strong cof
fee.”
“Business is going very well
right now,” Miguel said, “Every
year we have more customers.”
Like many other coffee houses
that boast growing name recog
nition and customer loyalty,
Espresso Roma is a corporation
with over 25 shops on universi
ty campuses, primarily along
the west coast, from San Diego
to Seattle. But what sets the
family-managed Eugene shop
apart from other locations is its
ties to the birth of the company
19 years ago in Berkeley, Cali
fornia.
Owner Sandy Boyd opened
the first Espresso Roma on the
campus area of the University of
California-Berkeley in 1980 and
hired Maria and three of her
brothers. Miguel had moved
permanently from Tepatitlan,
Mexico in 1975 and worked for
another coffee shop in California
for 17 years. Maria’s brother
Berto Mendoza, also from Mexi
co, has been roasting the beans
for Espresso Roma Corporation
for nearly 20 years after begin
ning work for Boyd as a busboy
in 1980.
Miguel and Maria eventually
moved to Eugene to manage the
two-year-old Espresso Roma, a
former bookstore purchased by
Turn to Espresso, Page 14C
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