The Riverside Press-Enterprise
National barista contest coming to Klatch
Klatch Coffee in Rancho Cucamonga will be the scene of controlled coffee chaos come mid-march.
The family-run coffee company and bean roaster is hosting the 2024 U.S. Coffee Championships for baristas, brewers and tasters between March 15-17.
The company founded by Mike and Cindy Perry celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023. Klatch has seven stores in Ontario, Fontana, Chino Hills, San Dimas, Pasadena and Redondo Beach in addition to the headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga. It also operates a stall at LAX.
We asked the team at Klatch for some details about the competitions. Here’s a brief recap of what they told us …
Q Is the competition open to the public?
A
Yes! This event is open for the public to come view at spectate.
Q
Is this mostly for baristas in the region or will they be coming from far and away?
A
This is national competition for all baristas in the U.S.
Q
Can you tell us a bit about the competition? Is it about taste and composition of the coffee?
A
This is for the U.S. Barista Championship, U.S. Brewers Cup Championship and US Cup Tasters Championship.
• Barista: In 15 minutes, competitors must prepare and serve espressos, a milk beverage and a personally designed signature beverage for four sensory judges. They will be assessed on their preparation abilities by two technical judges.
• Brewers Cup: Competitors perform Compulsory and Open Service in this competition that highlights the art of manual brewing.
• Cup Tasters: Fast and fun, this competition challenges entrants to test their sensory skills by discerning taste differences in a “triangulation.” Tasters get six sets of three cups, where two cups are identical and one is different. Competitors are challenged to taste, smell, recall and choose the unique cup in each triangulation. The person with the most correct answers in the shortest amount of time wins.
Q This is the championship round, so a winner will be crowned? A
Yes, winners will be crowned and then go on to represent the U.S. in the World Championships. There are only three champions,
one for each competition.
Q
How did Klatch get involved? Does it have a champion on its staff?
AKlatch does have award-winners on its staff. In fact, Heather Perry, the company’s CEO and Mike and Cindy’s daughter, is a USCC Barista Champion.
IF YOU GO >> 8767 Onyx Ave., Rancho Cucamonga
Office complex sells for nearly $14 million
Tower Office Plaza in Temecula recently changed hands for $13.8 million, according to CBRE.
Level Asset Capital bought the Class A building at 27555 Ynez Road from Providence Real Estate Group.
“Office sales in the Temecula and Murrieta areas remain strong and are somewhat isolated from all the corporate downsizing you hear about,” said Matt Pourcho, an executive vice president at CBRE.
The four-story 71,775-square-foot building is part of Tower Plaza, a remodeled grocery-anchored retail center. The complex includes a two-story parking structure and an oversized pond.
CBRE said the building is nearly full with tenants ranging from medical providers to banking services.
“These types of tenants provide owners with durable cash flow and pandemic-resistant changes,” said Pourcho.
Karma buys OTA software company
Karma Automotive, the Irvine-based luxury vehicle maker with its production facility in Moreno Valley, recently bought the technology assets and intellectual property of Airbiquity,
a Seattle-based automotive commercial software company.
Terms of the deal, which closed Feb. 28, were not disclosed by Karma.
Airbiquity makes software used by automakers to deploy “over-theair” software updates to vehicles. Investors include Toyota Motor Co. and Denso.
Karma, which said it hired key technical employees, assumed the software company’s contracts.
“We are wrapping Airbiquity’s
software into Karma Cloud Services and embedded vehicle technology to create a new platform that is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Marques Mccammon, Karma’s president.
Waba Grill taps three new grill masters
Riverside resident Alma Fuentes was among the top three winners of Anaheim Hills-based Waba Grill’s first Grill Master Competition, held at its flagship store in Yorba Linda.
The company said more than 200 cooks competed, with just 73 advancing to certified grill master. From there, nine grill masters were invited to participate in a grill-off.
A $1,000 first-place prize went to Alejandro Robledo of Mira Mesa, the $750 second-place prize went to Olga Dominguez of Anaheim, and the $500 thirdplace prize was claimed by Fuentes. Runners-up got $250, and all nine contestants received a personal Grill Master plaque.
Waba told us its Yorba Linda location serves as a pilot test location and test kitchen. The companyowned restaurant offers the core Waba Grill menu while also serving as a “hub for menu innovation, vetting test products prior to the first phase of testing in company and franchisee locations.”
Brokerage opens office in Riverside
SRS Real Estate Partners is expanding, adding a retail team and its first Inland Empire office.
The new team is being led by Nick Wirick, a senior vice president and managing principal with SRS. The team also includes Chris Beauchamp, Miranda Montgomery and Jessica Henderson.
The office is at 3390 University Ave. in Riverside.
Milestones
ERA Donahoe Realty in Temecula recently was honored with the 2023 ERA Gene Francis Memorial Award Top All-around Company.
The award, named after ERA Real Estate cofounder Gene Francis, is the company’s highest honor given to an Era-affiliated company.