Philz Coffee is one of the Bay Area's best-known homegrown chains. It's known for pour-over coffee. Here's how it got where it is.
The corner store
Phil Jaber, who was born in Palestine, ran a corner grocery in San Francisco's Mission District for more than 25 years, according to Wikipedia. He and his son Jacob founded Philz in 2003. Jacob later became CEO and grew the company from a single store to dozens of locations. Both stepped away from day-to-day operations in 2021.
Growth and change
Investor funding starting in 2013 took Philz to Southern California, Chicago and the Washington, D.C., area, Wikipedia says. It pulled out of the D.C. area by early 2023. Here are some recent milestones:
- October 2023: the original Mission District cafe closed
- January 2024: Philz announced it was moving its headquarters from Dogpatch to Oakland
- August 2025: private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. bought the company for $145 million. Wikipedia says Philz had 79 locations then, all in California and Chicago
The blends
Philz's site says it roasts and blends sustainably sourced beans in-house. Its listed favorites include Tesora (caramel, chocolate, nuts), Philtered Soul (hazelnut flavoring, maple, caramel) and Jacob's Wonderbar (dark chocolate, berry, smoke). Bay Area locations include cafes in San Francisco, Colma, San Jose, Campbell, Sunnyvale, Oakland, Walnut Creek and Concord.