Photo by Brian Addison.
I once called Lord Windsor’s iced coffee arguably the best in the city—no matter which bean they were using at the time. Always rich, always with a hint of brightness, it became my daily fuel (and a guaranteed day of unstoppable work were I to have two servings).
Now, the Alamitos Beach roaster has taken a new step forward in better caffeinating Long Beach: it is now bottling the coffee beverage (in what is arguably one of the coolest bottles to hit the market since Stumptown’s stubby iced coffee bottle, thanks to Long Beach artist Jake Crowley who contributed the bottle’s artwork).
“We started bottling our iced coffee for a bunch of reasons,” said owner and co-founder Wade Windsor. “From a wholesale perspective, the bottles give our coffee legs to places it might not otherwise reach. The bottles are a bit less of a commitment than buying whole beans, and makes it easier to decide to carry it… From a customer perspective, we started bottling for convenience. It’s already brewed, just waiting for you to grab a bottle; so easy and delicious.”
To celebrate the release of the bottles, which are now officially available for purchase at the roaster’s brick-and-mortar at 3rd and Alamitos, Lord Windsor is teaming with a group of local shops— including neighboring lifestyle and apparel shops Yellow 108 (about to move downtown) and Orn Hansen, as well as kombucha pros Fine Feathers—and Thread Events to throw a block party this Saturday, August 16.
“The event really started with me being interested in doing something that would bring the neighborhood together,” said Ashley Montgomery of Thread. “I’ve been a big fan of Lord Windsor Roasters and felt that the location would be perfect for a community summer celebration. When I approached Lindsay [Windsor, wife of Wade] about the idea, she loved it. The timing also coincides with the launch of their newly bottled cold brew, which was just the icing on the cake.”
The idea for a simple neighborly block party—it was a “why-the-hell-not kind of approach,” in the words of Wade—soon grew into an all-out, purely Long Beach celebration with coffe, grub, more coffee, beer, clothing, pottery, even some flowers thanks to Fern + Feather, and some cookie decorating for the little ones thanks to Parchment Cookies. After all, why the hell not?
The block party then grew with participating vendors, as the newly expanded Bicycle Stand will be offering free tune-ups for those on two-wheels; Sweet Threads, the 4th St. baby clothing boutique, will be handling your little one’s style while Burrito Surf (which is a clothing company) handles yours; Sliced and Diced (oh please, bring your tortas), Slow Made Bakery, Caffeinated Kitchen, and Long Beach Jerky Company (the best) will be offering up food and drinks; Seventh Wave Surf Shop will bring the beach to you; Doggie Paws World will take care of your four-legged friends; Farm Lot 59 will provide kids some seed starting kits to grow their own food; and finally, We Love Long Beach will be bringing all the love they have for the city.
Tunes will be provided inside Lord Windsor starting at 2PM with DJ Nathan Kuntz and then expand outside with Joel Jaspers (whose smiling mug you can also catch behind the counter at Portfolio) at 3PM, Greater California at 4:30PM, and Boogie Mamas at 6PM.
Oh, and let’s not forget the beer, provided by none other than Long Beach’s best dive, Stache Bar. Provided will be El Segundo’s Mosaic Pale Ale and Smog City Pilsner (the latter being a Post fave).
“The most important thing to both Lindsay and myself is that this be a true community event,” Ashley said. “We want the neighbors to come out, hang out, and bring out a lawn chair or two. We will have chalk and water balloons for kids to be able to have a great time in the street. Of course, the other aspect is that we wanted to incorporate Long Beach businesses and artists that also make a point of connecting with the surrounding community.”
The Cerritos St. 1st Annual Block Party will take place on Saturday, August 16, on Cerritos between 3rd and 4th Streets. Block party will run from 10AM to 2PM, with music and beer hitting ears and mouths from 3PM to 7PM.
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