Espresso expert, coffee roaster, and cafe owner Andrea Spella first established his reputation with the eponymous downtown Portland coffee cart he opened in 2006. Now after the pandemic, and massive changes in the neighborhood, Spella has once again put roots down in the city center with Spella Caffè, his new flagship that opened October 12. The new Spella is a shoebox-size, Art Deco–style space located at the old Moonstruck Chocolate (608 SW Alder St).

This isn’t Spella’s first downtown brick-and-mortar. The former flagship opened in 2010, just a few blocks away. In 2020, it temporarily shuttered due to the pandemic, and, after a brief reopening, closed for good in late 2022. Spella is optimistic about this space as more workers start to return to downtown offices.

The new location has room for just one barista behind the petite espresso bar; Spella himself, donning his usual apron and tie, has been pulling shots of espresso since the shop opened. There’s a tiny pastry case, plus mugs and bags of beans for sale. On the wall, find coffee-related art, plus a map of Southern Italy, proudly displaying Spella’s family roots. There’s nowhere to sit, but patrons can drink it on the spot at one of the cafe’s small counters, like the Italians do.

Despite the new digs, Spella’s menu is as no-nonsense as it has been since it first opened in 2006. Spella uses a Rancilio pull lever espresso machine, an old-school apparatus that he says still dominates in Naples, but is used by few other cafes in the area. The manual control for every part of the process equals great espresso. Spella also slow-roasts his beans from Brazil to create a smooth, chocolatey espresso blend similar to what you’d find in Italy, complete with frothy crema. It’s great on its own, in a cappuccino, or mixed in the cafe’s signature shakerato, a popular drink in Italy made by vigorously rattling together espresso, ice, and sugar, cocktail style.

Non-coffee drinks get equal treatment. Spella makes hot cocoa using Northern Italian chocolate, and brews his own Assam black tea chai concentrate. Even the decaf has been tweaked to meet Spella’s exacting standards. “Say a group of four walks in here, and three of them are coffee lovers, but one doesn’t drink coffee,” he says. “I wanted to offer something as good as our espresso that’s not coffee.”

One week after reopening, Caffè Spella is already full of regulars, some who’d been visiting for 17 years, others who hadn’t seen Spella since before the pandemic. “You’re back! I used to work in the building next door. I’m back downtown, too,” says a customer, greeting Spella with excitement.

Some might question Spella’s decision to reopen downtown, rather than in a residential neighborhood or in a different business district. But for him, this area is home in more ways than one.

“This has always been a community for me, just like Southeast, Northeast, Northwest. There’s people who live down here, people who need services and want community, and I live here as well.… I’m here to support downtown and be a part of downtown.”