Solana Beach coffee company creates Thank You blend for COVID-19 frontline workers

Ecommerce coffee company Atilano Cafe, headquartered in Solana Beach, roasted 600 bags of a special “Thank You” blend for distribution to front-line workers handling the COVID-19 crisis.

“I wanted to say thank you and give back somehow to everybody who was doing something that allowed me and my family to be safe at home,” said Gabe Hierro, the company’s owner.

He added that the company wants to pay homage to a wide range of front-line workers, from postal workers to grocery store employees and medical personnel.

“Front line is a broad term,” Hierro said. “It’s very much everybody that has to work in order to provide a necessary service.”

Atilano partnered with Berry Good Food, a local nonprofit that had been delivering cakes, local produce and other food to police, fire departments, hospitals and other organizations throughout the county.

As an ecommerce company without a storefront, Atilano has an easier time adjusting to coronavirus-related business restrictions that went into effect in the spring. Jane Bills, director of communications at Atilano and vice president of Berry Good, said the cafe wanted to give back to the Solana Beach community.

“Our brand is about giving back and finding a way to help our community as much as we can and this seemed like the perfect opportunity,” she said.

Atilano — an acronym for “ama tu identidád Latino Americano,” meaning “love your Latin American identity — specializes in blends that combine California and Latino coffee cultures, inspired in part by Hierro’s upbringing in Puerto Rico.

The company is looking for a storefront in Solana Beach, one that would include a tasting room, but Hierro said the COVID-19 pandemic has put those plans in the “slow lane.”

For more information about the company, visit cafeatilano.com.