Caffe Trinity Reopens With Mid-Market's Working Class In Mind

Caffe Trinity Reopens With Mid-Market's Working Class In MindPhotos: Brittany Hopkins / Hoodline
Brittany Hopkins
Published on May 05, 2015

Caffe Trinity — located at the base of the marble-encrusted high-rise at 1145 Market St. — officially reopened yesterday after months of vacancy. We peeked inside to find the new tenant, John Akins, contemplating additions to the menu, which he hopes will strike a chord with the neighborhood’s working class and those who “appreciate simple but hearty meals.”

John Akins inside Caffe Trinity.

Those who adored the space’s timeless elegance will be pleased to hear that, besides the menu, not a thing has changed inside. Marble tables and red leather booths still line the interior, the walls still glow with frescoes and the oversized chandelier still dangles from the ceiling.

“The owner did a magnificent job with the decor, the marble, the wood. It’s the epitome of American beauty,” Akins said. “I can’t think of a better place in this area to feed people, and I’m committed to doing that.”

Akins’ passion for farm-fresh produce and stated "calling" for feeding people quality meals has led him from one side of the city to the other. Though he’s well-known in the area for selling fresh baked breads and pastries at the Civic Center Farmers Market for the past 19 years, he also runs the homestyle brunch spot Cafe Golo in the Marina, and — as we mentioned a few weeks ago — plans to open a Southern restaurant and bakeshop called Grits in the Tenderloin this fall.

Each of these locations have their own dynamics and demographics, he said. “Let’s face it, the Marina is one of the wealthiest places in San Francisco. Mid-Market is one of the more transient areas of San Francisco. If you contrast the two, you have both ends of the spectrum.”

While Akins said he’s seen more drug-related activity in the past week in Mid-Market than he saw in eight years in the Marina, he’s confident that the cafe will be a success — partially due to his knowledge of the location's past. Akins became close friends with the women who ran Caffe Trinity about 15 years ago and has been in close contact with her since. Her advice: Serve soup every day.

“We taste with our eyes and nose long before we waste with our tongues,” he explained. The smell of soup wafts through the building’s halls and out onto Market Street, driving hungry patrons to the cafe by their noses. By 1pm on day one, a few people had already stopped by in search of soup, so Akins plans to have a variety of soups on the menu by early next week at the latest.

Today, you’ll find a variety of hot and cold beverages (coffee, espresso, tea and orange juice) alongside Akin's fresh-baked pastries in the morning and sandwiches and salads for the lunch crowd. While Akins is currently sourcing sandwich bread from local retailers, he looks forward to serving sandwiches on his own fresh-baked breads — think potato-dill and asiago cheese and black pepper — soon.

For a taste of the new, budget-friendly Caffe Trinity, stop by 1145 Market Street from 7am-2:30pm daily.