Highwire Coffee expanding

Highwire Coffee says it plans to keep adding cafés in the East Bay, extending a local chain that has opened three new locations in the past two years. (whatnow.com) Chief executive Jeff Weinstein told the *San Francisco Business Times* there is “a lot of room in the East Bay” and said the company plans to “infill the East Bay and expand outward from there.” What Now San Francisco reported that strategy on April 21, 2026. (whatnow.com) Weinstein joined Highwire in 2025 after a stint at Peet’s, according to the *Business Times*. The paper reported on April 16 that Highwire had opened three locations in two years and was looking to grow while some larger chains were pulling back. (bizjournals.com) Highwire’s current footprint is concentrated in the East Bay: Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Alameda and Walnut Creek, with coffee roasted in Emeryville. The company’s website lists shops in Rockridge, Broadway, Prescott Market, Alameda, Walnut Creek and a newly opened VESPR location. (highwirecoffee.com; rockridgemarkethall.com) That matters because Highwire is expanding unevenly, not simply adding dots to a map. Its Montclair café in Oakland closed in March 2026, and local outlet Berkeleyside reported the shutdown amid a broader stretch of East Bay restaurant and bar closures. (berkeleyside.org) The company is also growing while negotiating with newly unionized workers. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 said on March 5 that 36 baristas and roastery workers across eight East Bay locations won voluntary union recognition after raising concerns about wages, staffing and safety. (ufcw5.org) Weinstein told What Now that freshness is one limit on how fast Highwire can spread. He said beans need to be delivered to each café at least three times a week, a logistics requirement that favors denser growth near existing operations. (whatnow.com) That helps explain why the next push is centered on nearby neighborhoods instead of a jump into distant markets. For now, Highwire’s plan is less about leaving the Bay Area than filling in more of the East Bay it already serves. (whatnow.com; highwirecoffee.com)