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Fans of El Diablo Coffee Co.’s signature drink, the Cuban espresso with caramelized sugar, can rest a little easier knowing the 18-year-old Queen Anne cafe will move next door after being booted unceremoniously from its existing home at the end of this month.
El Diablo was paying rent month-to-month while trying to negotiate a new lease, but announced a few weeks ago that it would be evicted from its longtime home at 1811 Queen Anne Ave. N at the end of the day Monday, April 30. At the time, owner Jill Killen (Royal Drummer Cafe, Cloud City Coffee) said she was considering moving next door. She confirmed to Eater today that she has indeed signed a lease for 1825 Queen Anne Ave. N, the spacious former home of Nana’s Family Mexican Kitchen and Cantina.
A Gofundme campaign to help cover the move and the much-larger new space is ongoing, and at time of writing had raised $19,540 of a $75,000 goal. El Diablo’s current location will close for good Sunday, April 29 at 6 p.m., and Killen hopes to open her new digs June 1, with a mobile trailer next to the building bridging the gap starting May 1. The trailer will serve just coffee at first, eventually adding bagels and other baked goods.
Once the cafe reopens with a bigger kitchen, its menu will also grow. Killen is considering adding hard alcohol to the lineup, as well as co-working with a bar in the evenings on the second floor, which is permitted for offices only. Killen also plans to rent out the kitchen to a food truck.
“Gotta be creative — the rent is more!” Killen said. “But [the new space] way more potential.”
