Customers say it’s not just the hand crafted coffee or the homemade pastries that have kept them coming back to Pannikin in La Jolla for decades.
“Honestly it’s the entire community you come here…it feels like you’re home,” said Stephanie Lomakin, who has been coming since she was 11 years old.
Pannikin’s co-owner of 15 years, Amanda Morrow, told NBC 7 after they were unable to reach an agreement with their landlord at their long-time La Jolla location, she thought they would have to shut down permanently.
“For me it was probably the most emotional time of my life so far,” said Morrow.
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She also shared that she originally got into the business because of her love of community. It’s only fitting that the community she served for years came together to support her when she needed it most.
She says the neighborhood raised $85,000 via GoFundMe to help her open at a new location nearby.
“There’s no way I could have done it without that funding,” said Morrow.
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The coffee shop is temporarily operating as a ‘pop-up’ business at The Lot movie theater in La Jolla, but Amanda says within a few months they’ll be moving to a new permanent location a few blocks away thanks to the donations and collaborative efforts of her customers.
“It’s unbelievable…everyday I have so much gratitude and I’m overwhelmed,” she said.
They’ll be opening under a new name: The Flower Pot Cafe & Bakery, but customers say that doesn’t matter to them.
“Even coming here to the Lot popup…it still feels the same. It doesn’t matter where it is,” said Lomakin.
In the end, customers say it’s the people, not the place, that makes this coffee shop special.
