The Cafe That Removed Everything You Expect

No wifi. No mocha. No milk on the counter unless you ask. Walk into The Wild Fox in San Francisco's financial district and the first thing you notice is what's missing.

This is not minimalism as aesthetic. It's minimalism as argument.

The Wild Fox opened in early 2026 at 123 Battery Street, a block from Embarcadero station and next door to the Japanese consulate. Co-founders Rich Lee and Liza Otanes, who also run Spro Coffee Lab, built it alongside Executive Chef Tsubasa Onozaki, formerly of Liholiho Yacht Club. Every coffee served here is roasted in Japan. Every drink arrives with a brew card listing origin, roaster, and roast date. The menu offers onigiri, unagi rice bowls, gyudon, and Japanese sandwiches.

In a city where convenience wins, does intentionality survive?

Six Years Empty, Then This

The space was an Illy Caffè that closed before the pandemic and sat vacant for six years. Lee and Onozaki accessed it through San Francisco's Vacant to Vibrant program, a city initiative that negotiates with landlords to sublease dormant storefronts to tenants willing to take risks.

The coffee infrastructure was already built. Reusing existing equipment and plumbing kept material out of the landfill. Intentional reuse as craft philosophy: not building new for the sake of new.

Frozen Coffee and the $105 Cup

The Wild Fox freezes all its coffee at peak flavor. Both espresso and pour-over are ground frozen on a Weber EG1, producing a sweeter cup with more pronounced acidity. The house espresso runs on a La Marzocco PB with built-in scales and a steam wand that presets temperature. Pesado screens and high-extraction portafilter baskets complete the setup, calibrated to pull sweetness from the shot.

The pour-over menu has featured as many as five Cup of Excellence lots at once. The most striking: the 2024 COE #1 Brazil, served at $105 per cup. Lee admits dialing it in was a nightmare. Several hundred dollars went down the drain before it was right.

Worth it, he says. It starts conversations.

Here's the data point that proves the thesis: for six consecutive months, pour-overs have been The Wild Fox's number one seller. Not lattes. Not matcha. In a country where milk drinks dominate specialty cafe sales, that tells you something about what happens when you remove distractions.

Competition Coffee as Education

The Wild Fox hosts World Barista Championship competitors to perform their full routines for guests. Christopher Hoff presented his complete WBC routine here, all three courses: espresso, milk beverage, and signature beverage. Guests scored on real judging sheets. Kay Cheon followed and sold out his sessions. Morgan Eckroth joins in August 2026.

This is cafe as cultural institution. Competition coffee exists in a parallel world most customers never see. The Wild Fox brings it into the room.

Фото: Виктор Младенов

Small Batches, No Waste

Coffee arrives from Japan several times per week from partners including Glitch Coffee, Oubaitouri, and Koloro Coffee Japan. The house blend comes from Be Bright Coffee, roasted by US Barista Champion Frank La. Small-batch imports mean quantities the team knows they'll sell, held at peak flavor by the freezing program, so nothing goes stale.

Plant milks cost the same as dairy. No upcharge for oat or almond.

The Wild Fox heads to SCAJ Tokyo in October 2026. The model is working.

What Sofia Can Learn

Sofia's specialty coffee scene is grappling with the same tension. Accessibility versus intentionality. Convenience versus craft. The city's 60+ specialty cafes are still defining what Bulgarian specialty culture looks like.

The Wild Fox proves something worth proving: you can remove the defaults, trust your customers to engage, and still thrive. Pour-overs can outsell lattes. A $105 cup can start a conversation instead of ending one. Intentionality is not a limitation. It's a position.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the frozen coffee grinding method used at The Wild Fox?

A: The Wild Fox freezes all coffee at peak flavor and grinds it frozen on a Weber EG1 grinder for both espresso and pour-over. This technique produces a sweeter cup with more pronounced acidity compared to grinding at room temperature.

Q: How does The Wild Fox source its coffee?

A: All coffee is roasted in Japan by partners including Glitch Coffee, Oubaitouri, and Koloro Coffee Japan, with imports arriving several times per week. The house blend is roasted by US Barista Champion Frank La's Be Bright Coffee.

Q: What is San Francisco's Vacant to Vibrant program?

A: Vacant to Vibrant is a San Francisco city initiative that negotiates with landlords to sublease long-vacant commercial spaces to tenants willing to take risks. The Wild Fox accessed its 6-year-vacant former Illy Caffè location through this program in early 2026.