Four Barrel Coffee Portola

Four Barrel's Portola counter at 2 Burrows Street was trading in January 2018, by Justin Phillips's report in the Chronicle.2 The company's own Visit Us page lists Divisadero Street and Valencia Street today, and not this one.5

Why go

Craig Stoll, who runs Delfina, told The San Francisco Standard in 2024 that Four Barrel is his cafe. What he drinks is the Big City blend by De La Paz, the Mission roaster the company now owns. He drinks it by the pot.1 The address he named is 375 Valencia.

Tal Mor and Jodi Geren joined Four Barrel in 2009 and became minority owners in 2012. They later took the company outright, after founder Jeremy Tooker stepped down in 2018 over allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Phillips reported at the time that Tooker's half of the business was going to the employees.2 The pair also co-own The Mill on Divisadero with Josey Baker. In 2022 they opened Loquat in Hayes Valley with Kristina Costa, out of Tartine.3

Order this / avoid

Order: the Big City blend, wherever you find their bar.1
Avoid: crossing town to Burrows Street on the strength of this page.

What locals & experts say

Craig Stoll, chef of Delfina, to Paolo Bicchieri of The San Francisco Standard, July 2024: Big City is a rich coffee, like I grew up drinking. Delfina makes a huge pot in the morning and finishes it by evening.1
Elena Kadvany, San Francisco Chronicle, September 2022, on the pair's Hayes Valley bakery: a cup of Four Barrel espresso there will arrive with a complimentary treat like house-made halvah or candied citrus.3

Good to know

Getting in: a counter, no bookings.
The doors the company names: 736 Divisadero Street and 375 Valencia Street.4
Where the pin is: 2 Burrows Street, in the Portola.

Verdict

could-visit — Drink the company's coffee at a counter it will admit to.

Four Barrel Coffee Portola.