Houston’s Beloved Cambodian American Bakery Koffeteria to Open New ‘Lil’ Location in Spring Branch

Koffeteria will debut Lil’ Koffeteria this spring

Houston’s Cambodian American cafe and bakery Koffeteria is opening a second location in Spring Branch this spring.

The two-time James Beard Award semifinalist, led by chef-owner Vanarin “Van” Kuch, will open Lil’ Koffeteria in the Quad at Brittmoore, a mixed-use development space located near Memorial on Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Koffeteria has teamed up with real estate owners and developers Pagewood and Wile Interests to open the space, which has transformed industrial warehouses into a campus of four office and community buildings, according to Randolph Wile, the president of Wile Interests.

Van says Lil’ Koffeteria will be more streamlined. Operated by two baristas, the new 770-square-foot mini-location will serve its award-winning pastries, beef pho kolaches, and tacos. Diners can go inside the Quad, where they can order from Lil’ Koffeteria through a walk-up window and then enjoy their pastries inside the co-working-style space that can comfortably seat at least 30 people. Van says the group is finally working on the construction of the coffee shop and its co-working-style space. For now, he says that the area, which is close to residential apartments, has tons of parking and an indoor and outdoor terrace with plenty of seating.

The past few months have felt momentous for the East Downtown bakery, Van says. The New York Times highlighted Koffeteria on its Best Bakeries list. The James Beard Foundation Awards named it a semifinalist in its Outstanding Bakery category for the second time; CBS This Morning featured the bakery in a spot on Thursday, January 23.

“This feels really big for us,” Van says, adding that it feels like a lot more people are paying attention to local pastry scenes, nationally. “It’s big to have one of those main voices that are a part of that dialogue coming from Houston,” he adds. “I’m telling my story through food.”