L'Italo-Americano

This dedication naturally leads to the question about w h a t s e t s G r a f f e o c o f f e e apart from other specialty coffee businesses: "We roast all our beans in our custom fluid bed roaster that has been calibrated over decades to exact temperature para- m e t e r s " , t h e y e x p l a i n . "While it's not rocket sci- ence, our approach requires a relentless commitment to experimentation, meticulous note-taking, and constant observation. We taste thou- sands of batches to arrive at our signature Graffeo Light and Dark roasts." By the mid-1980s, this c o n s i s t e n c y c a u g h t t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e c u l i n a r y world. As San Francisco's restaurant scene began to gain international acclaim, chefs realized that the final impression of a meal rested on the quality of the coffee. Some of the earliest restau- rants to embrace Graffeo C o f f e e w e r e M a r i o ' s Bohemian Cigar Store Café, H o u s e o f P r i m e R i b , T h e T i d e s R e s t a u r a n t , H a r r i s Steakhouse, and Parkside Café. The roasters at Graffeo share that: "Our dark roast is the favorite among chefs, along with our half-light, coffee. "The majority of cof- fee roasters use drum roast- e r s w h e r e b e a n s c o m e i n contact with searing metal," t h e p e o p l e a t G r a f f e o ' s s h a r e . " T h i s c a n l e a d t o scorched, smoky, unevenly r o a s t e d , a n d p o t e n t i a l l y toxic coffee that yields bit- t e r , o f f - p u t t i n g f l a v o r s . Because our coffee is roasted by convection using precise temperature controls, beans a r e h e a t e d u n i f o r m l y a t lower temperatures, result- ing in coffee that tastes rich, clean, and never bitter." Luciano's commitment to t h i s m e t h o d w a s n o t j u s t about the machinery; it was about the data. When people ask about the values over t h e y e a r s , t h e c o m p a n y ' s p h i l o s o p h y i s c l e a r : " A t Graffeo, we gauge our coffee roast not by time or color but by precise temperature. You can call it meticulous or simply the world's finest cof- fee. Precision yields perfec- tion." In an era where "spe- cialty coffee" often means an o v e r w h e l m i n g m e n u o f r o t a t i n g o r i g i n s , G r a f f e o uses a singular blend of pre- mium beans from Colombia, Costa Rica, and Papua New Guinea for Dark and Light r o a s t s , a n d t h e d e c a f i s 100% Colombian. half-dark roast. The smooth, r i c h f l a v o r i s n o n - b i t t e r , complementing several cui- sine styles and pairing per- fectly with something sweet for dessert. We focus on the beans and are available to support them when it comes t o s u g g e s t i n g e q u i p m e n t and overall tech support." T h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y h a s brought new chapters to the Graffeo story. In 2024, the company welcomed a new partner, Walter A. Haas. A s i x t h - g e n e r a t i o n S a n Franciscan, Haas brought a deep personal connection to t h e c i t y ' s h i s t o r y . H a a s ' s v i s i o n f o r G r a f f e o i s t o expand its reputation as an u l t r a - p r e m i u m s t a n d o u t a m o n g c o f f e e d r i n k e r s t h r o u g h s t r a t e g i c p l a c e - ments, partnerships with retail and hospitality loca- tions nationwide, and for- ward-thinking e-commerce campaigns. His background is uniquely suited for this t a s k ; t h e d r i v e t o b u i l d a great American brand is in h i s D N A , a s h e b r i n g s a w e a l t h o f e x p e r i e n c e through his family's multi- generational ownership of L e v i S t r a u s s & C o . s i n c e 1853. A Stanford graduate with an MBA from Harvard, Haas's career has spanned c o n s u m e r t e c h n o l o g y , media, and retail, expertise he is now applying to the art of the bean. Together with Luciano, Walter has com- mitted to sticking to tradi- tional ways, believing that the perfect cup of coffee is not so elusive after all. T o d a y , G r a f f e o ' s r e a c h extends far beyond the bor- ders of North Beach. Their mail-order business serves a global community of coffee l o v e r s w h o h a v e m o v e d away from San Francisco but don't want to drink any- t h i n g e l s e . D e s p i t e t h i s g r o w t h , t h e c o r e v a l u e s remain unchanged from the days of Giovanni's cot in the back room. As Graffeo Cof- fee approaches its centenni- al, it stands as a rare exam- ple of a business that has stayed true to its original mission. It is a story of Sicil- ian grit, Ligurian craftsman- ship, and San Franciscan innovation. Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg frequented the North Beach cafés to hear jazz and read poetry, it was Graffeo's cof- fee that fueled their late- night sessions, so the brand became synonymous with the intellectual and artistic fervor of the neighborhood. While the world outside was changing rapidly, the small shop on Columbus Avenue remained a sanctuary of tra- d i t i o n u n t i l 1 9 7 8 , w h e n L u c i a n o R e p e t t o h a d already taken the reins from his father for some time. Driven by a decades-long obsession with achieving the world's finest roasted coffee, Luciano took what many in the industry considered a massive "leap of faith." He abandoned the traditional drum roasting methods that had been the industry stan- d a r d f o r c e n t u r i e s a n d i n s t a l l e d a c u s t o m - b u i l t fluid bed hot air roaster. When asked what fluid bed r o a s t i n g i s , t h e t e a m e x p l a i n s : " I t ' s a u n i q u e roasting method using flow- i n g h o t a i r , i n v e n t e d b y M i k e S i v e t z i n 1 9 7 4 , a n d honed to perfection by our roaster Luciano Repetto." To understand why this was r e v o l u t i o n a r y , o n e m u s t understand the physics of I n t h e h e a r t o f S a n F r a n c i s c o ' s N o r t h B e a c h , w h e r e t h e a r o m a o f f r e s h e s p r e s s o d r i f t s through the streets, lies a legendary institution that defies the trends of modern c o f f e e c u l t u r e . F a r m o r e than a roastery, Graffeo C o f f e e is a living monu- ment to the Italian-Ameri- can experience. Since 1935, Graffeo has r e m a i n e d a g u a r d i a n o f quality, proving that, while trends come and go, true craftsmanship is timeless. Their story begins with the c l a s s i c A m e r i c a n d r e a m , through the lens of Sicilian heritage. Giovanni Graf- feo arrived in the Bay Area with a vision and, in 1935, he opened a modest grocery store in the city's Little Italy. At the time, North Beach was the hub of Italian life, where the smell of roasting beans was a daily encounter. To Giovanni, coffee was a calling. In those early years, the business was built on a f o u n d a t i o n o f w o r k a n d devotion. He worked nearly twenty hours a day, operat- i n g t h e s t o r e w i t h s u c h intensity that he rarely went home. Instead, he slept on a simple cot in the back room, surrounded by the sacks of g r e e n b e a n s t h a t w o u l d b e c o m e h i s l e g a c y . T h i s period of hard work lasted nearly twenty years, estab- lishing a reputation for a roast that was more consis- t e n t t h a n a n y t h i n g e l s e available in town. In 1954, a pivotal transi- t i o n o c c u r r e d : G i o v a n n i Graffeo sold his roastery to G i o v a n n i R e p e t t o , a n i m m i g r a n t f r o m L i g u r i a , Italy. The sale was like pass- ing the torch between two families who shared a deep- seated respect for the "art of the bean." Repetto involved his young son, Luciano, who was only ten years old at the time. During the mid-1950s a n d 6 0 s , G r a f f e o C o f f e e b e c a m e t h e u n o f f i c i a l soundtrack to the Beat- nik era: as icons like Jack Co-owners Walter A. Haas, III and Luciano Repetto (Image courtesy of Graffeo) G r a f f e o C o f f e e , a c e n t u r y - l o n g p u r s u i t o f t h e perfect Italian roast SERENA PERFETTO THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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