Expect a great cup of coffee and some light-hearted conversation when you visit Caffe Central in the Kalmanovitz Library at the UCSF Parnassus Heights Campus. The cafe reopened April 4.
Laurence Magtabog (photographed, above), a former barista at Caffe Central’s downtown location, is operating the cafe. Magtabog started working for Caffe Central when he was 17. “I started as a cashier and learned how to take orders and ring up orders and basically learning every station in the restaurant.”
For Ramin Vahabi, the owner of Caffe Central, everyone associated with the cafe is happy to be back at the library after three long years.
"I'm personally extremely happy that Laurence has moved up within the company to manage the location," Vahabi said. "He has been with us for a long time and to see him grow as a person and team member, there is nobody more deserving than him to take over that store."
After a couple of months, Magtabog became trained as a barista. He soon became a master at making coffee and entertaining customers. “I enjoy having conversation with my customers and getting to know them,” he said. “Making that personal connection with both customers and coworkers helps create a lighthearted workplace.”
Magtabog was soon elevated to head barista and was transferred to multiple locations to train new baristas. “The next thing I know, I was promoted to supervisor. I would check on team morale throughout the day and close the register.”
When the opportunity arose to manage the Caffe Central location at Parnassus, Magtabog couldn’t pass it up. “I experienced the community first-hand in the years before the pandemic and I just missed that friendly environment,” he said.
Retail Tenant Specialist for Campus Life Services, Robert Kirkbride, said Magtabog is the perfect person to operate the popular café. “He understands the UCSF community and how retail operations work on campus. He’ll be a great addition to Parnassus.”
Magtabog said he is excited to be working with the UCSF community again. “The campus is filled with driven individuals who are passionate about their jobs. Why not help them out with a good cup of coffee and a genuine conversation? I’m excited to get to know the community.”
In addition to excellent coffee, Caffé Central will feature breakfast pastries, sweet snacks, baked goods, grab-and-go salads and lunch fare along with a variety of drinks.
“I’m very excited to bring back everything that everyone has missed for almost three years and introduce new items in the future,” Magtabog said.
