Tucked within the warehouse district on the west side of Eugene is the ever-unorthodox Caffè Pacori. Its walls decorated with local art, a tight-knit staff, an arcade room and, of course, its delicious coffee are just some of the reasons it stands out among Eugene’s cafes. Beans imported from Central America are roasted in house by both gas and wood roasters and are served in bags decorated with original art as well as by the cup.
Pacori was not always a storefront. Owner Erice Pierce originally started as a floor sweeper in 2004 before purchasing the roaster in 2015. Back when he was an employee, the company mainly specialized in selling coffee to businesses. When COVID-19 shut down their main source of income, opportunity came knocking.
“People started showing up here randomly; they’d knock on the door,” Pierce said. “It’s not a great neighborhood so (if) someone’s knocking on the door, I got a bat behind the counter. I’d answer the door and there would be people like ‘hey, can I buy beans from you?’ and I’d be like ‘you guys came all the way out here to buy beans?’”
Once lockdown desperation proved that a customer base was willing to make the trek, Pierce and his crew transformed their warehouse into a legitimate storefront. Now fully decked out with a bar, lounging area and arcade, the cafe has made a name for itself — notably winning “Best Bathroom” and “Best Publicly Accessible Coffee Shop Couch” in Eugene Weekly’s “Best of Eugene.” Suffice to say, they are not averse to the unusual.
The space is well utilized, hosting concerts, stand-up comedy performances and a weekly screening of ‘80s cartoons on Saturday mornings. These Saturday morning cartoons help cultivate a community of not just die-hard coffee lovers, but of children, too.
“(Kids) are not here to drink coffee, but that’s what they’re going to think of when they start drinking coffee,” Pierce said. “We’re speaking to that next generation of coffee drinkers and I… love that.” Events like Saturday morning cartoons and word of mouth has led to foot traffic increasing every year. For Adam Howard, an employee who Pierce was unsure of hiring in fear of not having enough work for him to do, this is far from a problem.
“Literally since I started, each month has been busier and busier, so now he’s stuck with me,” Howard said. Adam Howard is the brother of Brit Howard, Pacori’s in-house designer and roaster. Brit has a history with art and printmaking and has found joy in the job.
“Eric’s my best friend and he pays me to do it,” Brit said. “Any job that you get to go in and have coffee with your best friend every day, that’s a good job.” Having recently acquired a greater portion of the warehouse they occupy, Pierce is hoping to host more concerts and events in the expanded space. In the meantime, a small corner is dedicated to Bear Calvary Paints, an independent business that creates paint meant for painting minifigures for board games. While seemingly unrelated to Pacori, they actually utilize recycled coffee beans to create better mud texture paint.
Pacori is self-admittedly out of the way of most commuters, but its dedication to character and being generally hospitable makes it feel like a diamond in the rough.
