Five Years of Pinhole Coffee

In the summer of 2019, the founder of Pinhole Coffee in Bernal Heights, San Francisco, asked me to take portraits of some of the people in the Pinhole community who have been integral to the formation and sustenance of the coffee shop since its establishment five years before. What a pleasure it has been to work at Pinhole and get to know these wonderful people, many of whom I see more frequently than my own family. Below are their portraits and a little bit of their stories.

JoEllen Depakakibo (wearing the black shirt) is the founder and creative soul behind Pinhole. She opened the shop in 2014 after many years in the coffee industry. She got started in Chicago working for a Barnes and Noble Café then went on to Intelligentsia in Chicago and Blue Bottle in California and New York. She always dreamed of having her own space where she could help foster community, creativity, performance, and philanthropy. She is an inspiration to so many and has created a space that holds a very special place in the routines, social lives (and caffeine habits) of those in the neighborhood and beyond.

Robin Quinn is JoEllen’s wife and a huge support to the café and JoEllen over the years. She dabbled in the coffee world (long enough to pick up JoEllen!) but then found her calling as a nurse. She is a truly beautiful individual, both inside and out.

And let’s not forget about Robin and JoEllen’s fur children, Milo the cat and Gladys the border collie. Gladys is named after the street in Bernal Heights where JoEllen and Robin once called home.

Andrew Barnett is the owner of Linea Caffe, a roasting company with a café in the mission and a roasting facility in Potrero Hill. He collaborated with JoEllen to create two signature blends for Pinhole. First was the Cup of José, named after JoEllen’s dad. Second is the Masarap (“delicious” in Tagalog.) We have also begun to pull Linea’s Little Wing on espresso. Andrew is an accomplished coffee professional who founded Ecco Caffe (it merged with Intelligentsia), holds a chair as a judge at the World Barista Championship, and whose coffees have won the Cup of Excellence several times. There is so much more for him to boast about, however Andrew is the most humble and gentle person. We love him for his coffee genius as much as his kind-hearted nature. He is pictured here with two of his staff roasters.

Leah Martha Rosenberg designed the colorful wall installation you see behind her. JoEllen and I knew her when she was making incredible edible art during the early Blue Bottle days. We have since proudly tracked her career as an artist in the Bay Area and internationally. I am so grateful to have the privilege of gazing at her art every time I show up to work. The wall makes Pinhole’s space infinitely more exciting, beautiful, and instagram-worthy.

Norman Lee is a best friend to the café. Born in San Francisco and a Bernal resident since 1953, Norman drops in multiple times a day usually for a hot chocolate (extra foamy, and extra hot!) or a sparkling water. He knows a ton about cars and motorcycles and all of the best routes to traverse the city on foot. He uses to come in specifically to flip our sign to “closed” right at 6 pm and has also provided much handy and emotional support over the years. He now spends several months at a time in Maine and we miss him when he’s not around. We love Norman- he’s a true individual.

Mitsuko Siegrist is a singularly talented and very much in-demand artist. Pinhole has been proud to serve our products in and on her ceramics. JoEllen first met Mitsuko at the Berkeley farmer’s market when JoEllen was brainstorming about her future café, and a beautiful friendship and partnership was born. I am not sure how Mitsuko finds the time to make ceramics for us with such a booming business and a bunch of cats crawling all over her. She is an angel of a person. We love you, Mitsuko!

Angela Wilson is the owner of Pinhole’s neighboring business, Avedanos. Avedanos’ space has housed butcher shops since 1901 and Angela carries on the tradition with her own style. She is a badass butcher, proprietor, and spokesperson for responsible meat consumption. She has been the subject of a documentary as well as the subject of a few SF Chronicle articles in which she had the bravery and boldness to call out some of the most problematic obstacles that small business owners face in the city today. She is a wonderful character, and these photos show her particular brand of tough plus sweet.

“Coach” Howie Slater is an institution at Pinhole. He comes in for drip coffee in his special cup and a blueberry muffin. He is always ready to chat and is chock full of wonderful stories.Howie is one of those loyal customers who became far more than that over the years. If a day goes by without us seeing him, we send out the search party. He is a Vietnam veteran, is anti-guns, and pro being all of our grandpa.

Nicole Spence is the owner of Black Lockett Florals and Foliages. Her aesthetic sensibility is unusual, elegant, and uniquely her. Nicole’s arrangements have helped to beautify Pinhole for the past several years, and we share many of the same customers. I love watching people stroll into Pinhole after having visited Black Lockett- we can always tell because nobody else created bouquets like Nicole’s. I am so glad that I could capture her natural gorgeousness for this project.

This is Judy Kahn, the owner of bakery/café Kahnfections. Pinhole proudly carries her classic and unusually delicious croissants, cookies, dill Swiss biscuits, blueberry muffins and ginger scones. I like to tell customers that these are some of the best versions of these pastries they’ll ever try, and I always encourage people to go to the source- her café at 20th and Folsom. Judy is an all-around strong and amazing person who has overcome so much in order to keep her business consistent and consistently satisfying.

Lauren Haynes and Pete Romeo are two members of the Pinhole extended family. Lauren is our landlord and we can always count on her help when something needs fixing (and quickly!) in the shop. Lauren and Pete are master plumbers and work in partnership on projects all around the city. They are brimming with fascinating autobiographical stories and are two of my favorite Bernal characters. We took these photos on two different work sites. We shot the far left photo in the boiler room of a mansion in the Marina and they are posing in front of the boiler system they built.

This is Marty Dutcher with his grandchildren Phin and Evie. Marty is a writer, teacher, beloved dad and grandpa and a very special member of the Pinhole community. He is the author of Beyond Good Parenting and facilitates workshops for parents. For the past few years he has hosted a singalong for toddlers and their parents or caretakers almost every Wednesday afternoon. The event can be relaxed and sweet or wild and crazy and crowded (but still adorable.) I have even had the pleasure of singing some Joni Mitchell while Marty plays guitar. Pinhole wouldn’t be the same without him.