Grand Opening at Dedo Cafe in Long Beach with its Kissa Design

This book in the photo is the source of inspiration for Sarah and Scott, when designing the cafe. When creating the plans for the cafe they kept on referring to this book as a guide for their vision.

"From Hi-Fi records to specialty brews, this grand opening marks the start of something new on Pacific Ave."

By Cris Guzman

On this cloudy Friday, 14th of November, a local Long Beach cafe held their grand opening, making a noticeable appearance to their local neighborhood. Dedo Cafe is a husband and wife owned coffee shop striving to be the pioneers of a new social hub on Pacific Ave. Scott Dedo and Sarah Grant have been working on this idea for nearly 7 years, finally committing to their cafe in 2021. Their special Kissa design creates a tranquil oasis for the local neighborhood. 

This view of the cafe seating area showcasing its Japanese Kissa design. This layout is carefully constructed to get people more interactive with each other, making them more socially aware of their surroundings. 

Cafe Concept

Have you ever heard of Jazz Kissa? Kissa is a Japanese term for listening cafe. This is not your usual work cafe. Instead, it is  a type of cafe where customers can listen to records with high-fidelity audio equipment and enjoy a cafe drink. They are trying to be a neighborhood coffee shop, to which community members can easily walk to and socialize with each other.  As Sarah stated, “We were struggling in social aspects, and we just wanted to start something we can walk to.” Their motto for the cafe is to come in and experience the music and the warm ambience, instead of just passively listening to music while doing work. Dedo’s mission is the revival of the listing bar experience, while adding the local neighborhood spirit. 

Owners Vision

This is a group photo of the Grand Opening team, with Dylan on the Left to Sarah and Scott on the right. The photo was taken in front of the order station and the coffee bar.

The owners use their combined experience with coffee and Hi-FI sounds to bring together their vision to life. Scot used to work with Hi-Fi equipment and helped with local startups within his community. Sarah has been researching, and teaching about the coffee agriculture and industry for about 17 years. She has traveled across East Asia for her research on the coffee beans. Currently she is a professor at California State University of Fullerton teaching her experience in the Environmental Studies department. Their staff is also friendly and thoughtfully engaging when customers are listening to what's on deck.  Dylan, the lead Barista, also had shared a few words on the cafe since its opening. He commented, “People are still noticing the shop, but locals have been welcoming so far. It's a nice sport for the local neighborhood.” Since opening in July, locals have begun to frequent the shop and enjoy its intentional, welcoming space.

Source Interviews:

Sarah Gran-Co-Owner- sagrant@fullerton.edu 

Dylan Patty-Lead Barista- dylanpattyphotography@gmail.com 

Dedo Coffee Website -https://dedocoffee.com/ 

Image via Cristian Guzman Lumix GH5