One step inside the doors of newly opened Steel Mill Coffee & Records shop in Oceanside proves it’s unlike any of the region’s other hip coffee houses.

There’s an eclectic retro mix of music playing on the sound system, a custom-made chopper motorcycle with extended forks in the corner, skateboarding photographs on the walls and racks of vintage vinyl records dating back to the mid-1960s for sale.

Co-owners Riley Hawk, Shea Cooper and Chris Balingit combined all of their interests when they opened their shop on Feb. 4 at 605 Mission Ave. But Hawk said that it wasn’t their intention to simply open a business for themselves and their friends.

“These are the things we love, but we want to attract customers of all interests. We hope people will come in for the coffee and maybe discover some music they love. Or maybe they’re into music and they get in to cycles,” Hawk said.


Hawk is the son of local skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and a professional skater himself. Cooper also skates professionally and comes from a family of coffee shop operators in Idaho. Balingit skates for fun and has a deep background in the coffee industry, having apprenticed as a roaster for San Diego’s James Coffee Co.

The interior of newly opened Steel Mill Coffee & Records in Oceanside. (Pam Kragen/San Diego Union-Tribune)

Hawk and Cooper have been friends since their mid-teens and Cooper met Balingit six years ago through their coffee-making connection. All three men are 26, they all ride motorcycles and they all live in Oceanside. Since opening the store last week, they’ve also been working side by side seven days a week as the shop’s sole employees.

Hawk and Cooper are the music enthusiasts. Hawk has played for several years in local bands and he began collecting vinyl records at age 15. The shop’s music collection ranges from classic rock and punk to local bands. Some of the records for sale on Wednesday morning were a 1967 pressing of The Doors’ “Strange Days,” a 1968 copy of “This is Deep Purple” and a 2017 reissue of early-1970s songs by the British punk band Crushed Butler.


“We thought we’d bring in some of the music we like and weren’t sure how it would go, but it’s been selling like crazy,” Hawk said.

On the walls are large black-and-white photographs with personal meaning to Hawk. The largest is a picture of his father doing a high-flying stunt. There are also portraits of two of his skating friends who passed away: L.A. resident Dylan Rieder, who died from leukemia at age 28 in 2016, and Ian “Poods” Barry of Encinitas, who died at age 22 when he fell from a cliff in Leucadia in 2012.

The 900-square-foot shop sells James Coffee Co., which Balingit said he believes has the best bean-roasting program in town. David Kennedy, the founder of James Coffee, also helped build all the metal work in the shop’s coffee bar.

Steel Mill Coffee sells a small variety of coffee drinks, from espressos to lattes, as well as herbal and caffeinated teas. It also sells a selection of pastries and doughnuts from nearby bakeries. Prices range from $2 for a small brewed coffee to $5 for a large mocha.


Eventually, Hawk said, he and his partners would like to do some art shows and maybe a live music event in the evening hours. For now, they’re focusing on the quality of their coffee and creating an inviting space for coffee-drinkers who are looking for something a little different from the corner Starbucks.

“First and foremost, we want to serve great coffee,” Cooper said. “But we want to create an inviting environment for everyone.”

Steel Mill Coffee & Records

Hours: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

Where: 605 Mission Ave., Oceanside


Phone: (760) 208-0827

Online: facebook.com/SteelMillCoffeeCo/

The exterior of Steel Mill Coffee, which opened Feb. 4 in Oceanside. (Pam Kragfen/San Diego Union-Tribune)


pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com