October 12, 2026
Provided Image/Mike Prince
Càphê Roasters co-founder Thu Pham, above, and husband Raymond John are opening another outpost of their Vietnamese specialty coffee shop in spring 2027 at 2501 Oakford St. in Grays Ferry. The business will occupy the ground floor space of the Herringbone Lofts apartment building.
Càphê Roasters, the Vietnamese specialty coffee shop that earned a James Beard award nomination for its store in Kensington last year, will expand with a new location in South Philly in the spring.
Husband-and-wife owners Thu Pham and Raymond John have signed a lease to take over the ground floor of the Herringbone Lofts apartment building at 2501 Oakford St. in Grays Ferry. The space will be more than double the size of the Kensington cafe that opened five years ago.
"It was always part of the growth plan for us, as we want to serve multiple sections of the city, and South Philly is home to a lot of Asian-Americans," Pham said in a statement. "We knew we wanted to expand to a neighborhood that would embrace us as much as we're embracing the community, and South Philadelphia sounds like the perfect fit."
Càphê Roasters' dark beans, which are sourced from Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, will continue to be roasted in small batches out of the flagship location at 3400 J St. in Kensington. The new cafe, planned to be more of a lounge, will have a much larger dining area with around 90 seats compared with roughly 40 at the Kensington spot. The new store will also offer third-party delivery.
Càphê Roasters' second shop will open on the ground floor of the Herringbone Lofts apartments at 2501 Oakford St. in Grays Ferry.
Pham, John and business partner Abraham Kwon got their start in 2018 when they won a competition to open a specialty cafe out of Kensington's MaKen Studios creative hub. The business held frequent pop-up events and started selling their coffee to other retailers, roasting about 300 pounds per week. Their signature drink, cà phê sữa, is a traditional Vietnamese milk coffee made with dark robusta beans that bring out notes of almond and chocolate.
Since opening their first brick-and-mortar store in 2021, the business has grown to roast more than 1,000 pounds of coffee per week. In addition to their coffee and matcha, the food menu at Càphê Roasters includes bánh mì, crispy fries and a variety of Vietnamese breakfast sandwiches and specials.
Càphê Roasters was a 2025 James Beard award semifinalist in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category, which expanded in 2023 to include coffee among a wider range of drinks. The award ultimately went to Baltimore's Charleston Restaurant, known for its extensive wine selection.
The planned expansion to South Philly comes after Pham and John already had revealed plans to grow in Kensington in the coming year. They will take over the former Harrowgate Theatre across the street from their original location, adding space to roast more coffee and open a full-service Vietnamese restaurant that will partner with a back-of-house Korean brewery. That project is expected to open in late 2027.
Pham said Càphê Roasters is exploring the possibility of opening additional locations in the city in the future, but no other spaces have been identified at this time.
Pham, born in the Philippines to Vietnamese parents, relocated to Olney with her family when was a child. She took an interest in coffee while studying consumer behavior at Drexel University and later partnered with John, a University of Pennsylvania graduate who heads the education nonprofit 12 Plus. The organization works with schools in Philly, Camden and southwestern Pennsylvania. Càphê Roasters donates a portion of its profits to the program and often recruits alumni to work at the cafe.
Herringbone Lofts, formerly a men's suit factory, was redeveloped into 54 apartments across four floors in Grays Ferry. Not long after the project was completed in 2022, the building's ownership approached Càphê Roasters about opening in their ground floor space.
The 5,685-square-foot cafe will be designed by Center City-based CosciaMoos Architecture. The business hopes to hold more public and private events at its South Philly location when it opens next year. The business will start out operating six days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. before eventually expanding to seven days a week.
"The space is going to be beautiful, and the neighborhood is definitely growing, and we're just grateful to be a part of that growth," Pham said. "Next spring can't come soon enough for all of us."
