New Alta Vista coffee shop Philoçoffee to open next month

Philoçoffee will be located at 606 W. French Place. Philoçoffee will be located at 606 W. French Place. Photo: Courtesy Philoçoffee Photo: Courtesy Philoçoffee Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close New Alta Vista coffee shop Philoçoffee to open next month 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

A new coffee shop opening next month in San Antonio’s Alta Vista neighborhood comes complete with a lesson in basic French grammar. It’s called Philoçoffee — notice the tail on the c, or c cédille, in the spelling — cleverly resulting in the pronunciation “philosophy.”

General manager Julie Butler said the shop will serve as a haven for caffeine-seeking Francophiles. A large metal bull outside the store has been painted in the blue, white and red bars of the French flag. A custom French-style coffee bean blend has been developed for the cafe by local roaster What’s Brewing. The Castle Hills-based C’est La Vie Baking Co. will provide croissants and other pastries.

“We’re kind of going all the way with the French theme,” Butler said.

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Philoçoffee, which is owned by San Antonio doctor David Bartos, is slated to open the first week of May. The space is formerly home to Press Coffee, which moved out of the building following a long dispute with landlord and local attorney Barbara Lamar last year. For her part, Lamar is happy to see the new kid on the block.

“I think the neighborhood needs a coffee shop, and I was impressed with their plans,” Lamar said. “I’m looking forward to taking clients over there.”

Philoçoffee will be located at 606 W. French Place. More at 210-314-8450 or Facebook: philocoffeesa.

Paul Stephen is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen