Coffee, Cocktails and Food at SLO’s Twenty South
Story by Aja Goare
Photography by Jennifer Young
Working in the hospitality industry can be a thankless job for what tends to be low pay, leading to high rates of burnout. After eight years of this — at one point working three jobs to make ends meet — Andre Gorham decided there had to be a better way: his way.
He opened Twenty South in the SLO Public Market last November. As the founder, he manages a team of eight employees and focuses on creating an experience that’s not just good for customers, but employees, too. “I wanted to build the culture and team that I wasn’t able to have in the past,” Andre says.
Part of that culture entails nurturing a true sense of community. He says unlike other coffee shops he’s patronized, the interaction between customer and barista at Twenty South isn’t solely transactional. “If you order a drink for here, we actually bring it to you. While you’re here, we’re checking in on you, bringing water if it seems like you plan to stay longer,” he says. “I want guests to feel seen. I want them to feel cared for.”
That includes complimentary hot chocolates for kids and tableside coffee refills. Andre believes hospitality took a backseat during the pandemic, when face-to-face interactions were all but eliminated. The masked and distanced pandemic wasn’t the only time Andre yearned for connection. In his previous career in finance, his interactions were limited to “making people’s bank accounts bigger.” Despite a reduction in pay, Andre says the shift in career has brought him purpose. “If I know I made your day with the perfect cappuccino — I steamed the milk just right and nailed the latte art — that makes me feel good,” he says. “I know I just set you up for a good day.”
To make it an even better day, Twenty South offers cocktails and menus for all three meals of the day. Dishes prepared by Chef Steve Lucero, who has cooked for various Central Coast restaurants for 30 years, include salads, toasts, sandwiches, quiches and more. Eric Hunter runs the bar program and crafts cocktails with creative touches that pair well with entrees. “We want to be great at all three: coffee, cocktails and food,” says Andre. “Having good coffee and food is easy, but having great customer service is harder.”
Looking ahead, Andre plans to expand with new locations across the Central Coast.
“And we know that requires staff that’s passionate and really good at what they do,” he says. “So we do pay higher than minimum wage — we’ll take the hit now while we’re building, knowing in the future we’ll be in a better position for it.”
