Nam Coffee

Vince Nguyen grew up in Pleiku, a city of coffee, tea and honey farms, and at twelve was working his mother's coffee stand in Saigon's District One, the district a house blend is named for. A fashion career took him to Orange County, the coffee he missed there sent him looking for a source, and weekend markets, Asian fairs and festivals carried the beans until East Hollywood got a counter.

A bright white room under exposed wood beams holds Nam's East Hollywood bar, with an icon mural of palms, beans and a shophouse in orange, green and brown above a grey stone counter, where a curved glass pastry case, the espresso machine and a stack of orange NAM boxes sit beside a white-painted brick wall. XIN CHÀO is lettered in orange on a white wall, pale wood tables and stools stand against pegboard screens, and out front an orange stucco pier and olive-painted brick frame a black steel window with pale wood benches on the sidewalk.