Recent social media posts
06/03/2026
Soooooo we did somethin kinda crazyyyyy. But lowkey, this is a much smaller version of an 8+ year old idea. We cut a hole in the wall & connected to our sister business !
Back in 2018 we were offered the space next door to expand our lil cafe. Let’s just say, it wasn’t the right time. But we had dreamt up a mediterranean inspired bar over there. Meetings with architects & designers and all that. The thought was knock down allll the walls & make a big horseshoe shaped bar, connecting the espresso side & the new side. Get beer & wine (or more), full kitchen, be a very ambitious alllll day cafe & restaurant. Again… this was 2018.
Life did its thing & that dream was tabled indefinitely.
Fast forward almost a decade, and we opened at the end of 2025. But over the last few months we’ve noticed how many of our guests at scrim don’t realize this is our evening project. A lil more grown up & polished version, still a lot to learn. Running into (good) problems like not enough seating on Friday & Saturday nights.
So we said frick it, let’s put a hole in the wall. Became an overnight family project. Our little dude got it started with a hammer, uncle john & uncle ruben stayed up all late making it happen, and 8ish hours later we had an archway connecting em.
We’ll see what ends up happening, but we’re thinking of weekend evening overflow, maybe after dinner coffee, affogato anyone? And maybe we get to open on weekend mornings for some extra seating & mimosas?
If you haven’t been in lately, things are startin’ to look a lil different. Hope you cruise in for coffee soon & maybe check out at the same time.
05/27/2026
SOME NEW FUN ADULT BEVERAGES STOCKED!
We were lucky to score a fresh case of Maine Beer Company LUNCH IPA. There’s not a ton of this juice that makes it to our side of town, so grab one while ya can!
Next, Pépin Blanc. A refreshing blend of Alsatian white. This is a greaaaaat food wine. Especially seafood in the summer.
Next up - a LITER bottle of party juice for our good buds up in LA. It’s 100% responsibly farmed Sauv Blanc from California & we think you should throw it in the fridge while you grill up some fish for tacos. But you’ve gotta invite us, okay?
Vinho Rubro from Marcio Lopes is usually a staple on our shelf as it is also just a great food wine. Or just to drink on its own. So goood. (cc: : restocked, my dude)
Lastly, one of our favorite producers that also seems to always have a section on our shelf. The homies from making this awesome negroamaro Pet Nat in Riverland, Australia. Get it cold, have a party, & let those bubbles dance.
Oh &, we’ve changed up our layout of wine n stuff, so come check it out soon. With summer here, we’ll be keeping the shelves stocked with approachable, wallet friendly, low intervention, delicious juice!
05/21/2026
PROCESS. So every shop has its own version. But this is ours. A mix of the latest & greatest, but also manual & rudimentary.
In our world, we need a quality grinder that offers an even grind & consistent dose. Distribute & tamp, by hand. Pull shot with scale on our baseline, super manual Linea EE that helped us buy 10 years ago (never forget your roots). Steam milk to a consistency of wet paint. Pour something beautiful.
Lots of stories & knowledge & hands & history & experience in every drink. Shout out to our manager & hand / latte art model here, for respecting this process
coffee rules, man
📸:
05/16/2026
BRUNCH. EVERY WEEKEND. 7ish to 1pmish, or sellout.
It’s been a minute since we talked about our full lineup, so here goes, in case you haven’t blessed your body with one of our brunch items -
First up, brekkie sausage. Folded egg / housemade turkey breakfast sausage patty / pepperjack / chipotle aioli / chive / toasted brioche. Banger.
Next, OG Brekkie. Folded egg / sharp cheddar / healthy dose of bacon / chipotle aioli / chive / toasted brioche. Cant go wrong.
Mini Egg Sando. English m**f / tomato bacon jam / American chz. Easy, small, cheaper, a lil messy. Bomb.
Breakfast Burrito. Soft scramble / cheese / bacon / potatoes / chipotle crema. 12” griddled tortilla. Simply does not miss.
Soyrizo burrito. Soft scramble / soyrizo / cheese / potatoes / chipotle crema / cilantro, 12” griddled tortilla. Veg friendly, zesty, just simply fire.
We do a few hundred of these every weekend, and gotta admit we’ve thought about changing it up, maybe adding Friday to the lineup…idk. Whatchu think? How pi**ed would you be if we 86’d one of yours favorites? lolllll
Okay anyways see ya this weekend for brunch! Only til 1pm, or sellout!
05/13/2026
GOOD THINGS START IN LITTLE ROOMS
This Friday night, we’re staying open a bit later than usual. We’ve got .sd taking over the cafe for a night of education, poetry & a lil bit of fundraising in collaboration with the .
We’re pitching in a buck from every pint, and $2 from every glass of wine sold for the evening - straight back to them.
Come hangout, learn a little, and join the raffle for a chance at some swag.
Head over to their pages to learn more. See ya Friday night for a lil after hours community building!
05/12/2026
BLUE VELVET
Tryna show a little love to our spring seasonals before the end of the season.
We’re brainstorming what’s up next but this weird weather has us feeling our Blue Velvet today. A lil blueberry malt latte. It just hits on a day like this.
Cruise in & snag one before they’re gone!
04/22/2026
BIG PROUD SIBLING BUSINESS MOMENT
Err actually - maybe even a reintroduction?!
If you’re not in the loop, we own a 21+ beer bar about a mile east, called . We opened over there in March of 2022, as the world was coming back online. We wanted to keep the community we’ve build here at Scrim going late into the night. So we finagled the keys to an old beer bar that had shuttered. We gave it some new life with a fresh draft system & permitted kitchen, but kept the ol’ bones. Now, Majorette is celebrating its 3rd year in business.
They’ve got creaky wooden 100 year old floors, free pool tables, and a great backyard patio. An awesome beer list, natural wine, and a couple sassy bartenders.
We’re proud of our 2nd project here in the 92115. Heck, you might find our baristas here after their close on particularly wild days.
All that to say, they’re throwing a big party on Saturday! Vinyl dj sets out back, skewers, special burgers, even ping pong apparently! Heard they’ve got special glassware just for the day too, when you buy a pint.
We’ll be there, hope to see ya then!
04/17/2026
Sooo back in 2021 we had the homie refresh the branding she did for us back in 2016/17.
This August will be 9 years… thinking maybe it’s time for another refresh for 10. Do we finally kill off the whale? Do we double down? More color, new icons? So many thoughtssssss. Whatcha think?
It’s so fun lookin’ back on all the little things we’ve done, sayings, quips, icons, etc., how we’ve grown with the brand & whatnot.
thanks for being a part of that. 🫶🏼
04/10/2026
All weekend, the first ever “World of Coffee” event is taking place here in San Diego. The city is literally crawling with coffee heads from around the world. There’s exporters from the mountains of Ethiopia, folks pushing the boundaries of tech & AI in coffee, roasters from like, everywhere, lecturers hosting talks about every topic you can think of. Basically, just every facet of this beautiful industry is being represented this weekend, all over town.
Super thankful to be part of it this incredible thing we call coffee. Saw a homies today from our trip to Peru who are in town, so figured I’d post some in the spirit of this big beautiful convention. global friendships are fun!
We’ll be attending the party & a few events around town, but the shop will be holdin’ it down, business as usual!
If you see us out and about, say what up! & If you’re just visiting & exploring town, come say what’s up & see how we do it on the east siiiiiide!
03/31/2026
As a cafe that operates through the late afternoon, we’ve got some other choices for ya beyond caffeinated bean juice.
At some point ya gotta just switch it up, so we keep Pupil on draft, because sometimes it’s just necessary, nawmeaaaan?
Come have a beer, open til 6, daily. Also pairs well with a bagel.
03/28/2026
MAAAARK
Mark is our 2nd most recently hired barista. And he’s just hit 2 years with us. He’s the man. Keeps it real, is so kind, and just the coolest cat around. The Real McCoy, if you will.
We don’t celebrate “anniversaries” of our employees enough, but that’s gotta change. 2 years and he’s our 2nd most recent barista hired? That is insane. The longevity of our staff is something that we’re all pretty proud of.
so shout out to our crewwww man. these foos put so much of their life into yours, whether you realize it or not. honored that yall work for us.
thanks for 2 years, mark!
03/20/2026
ITS THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING TOMORROW, so, in typical Scrim form, we’re launching our spring drinks!!
First up, we’ve got the Spring Affair - a matcha latte with jasmine & orange blossom. Get it hot, or iced!
Next, The Healer - a sparkling white tea with elderflower & lemon syrup, served cold only
Blue Velvet - a housemade blurry malt latte, served hot or iced
& lastly, the return of the Champagne Coast - a flash brew iced coffee based soda, with blood orange & rhubarb
sheeeeeesh, hyped to launch these on such a hot ass week, grab one of these & a breakfast burrito & hit the beach or somethin this weekend!
03/18/2026
PARK WEATHER IS OFFICIALLY HERE
Which means we’re keepin’ up on spring & summer sippers. Affordable, unfussy adult bevs to compliment your late afternoons spent with good buds & sunshine.
natural wine, craft beer & coffee, all sold here!
03/16/2026
sometimes a latte just smaaaaacks!
perfect milk & a great shot of espresso. what else do you need? maybe just a good book!
come hang with us soon, we miss ya!
02/25/2026
Yoooo so we’re nominated again this year for best roaster via !
If ya didn’t know, well…we can’t really blame ya since we like never talk about it, lol. But yeah, we roast all the coffee yall drink, ourselves. It’s something we frankly don’t talk enough about (even these photos are like 3 years old, loool), but we do put a ton of energy & care into.
From research to sample roasting to cupping to production roasting to QC- it’s a lot for a little shop like us. But we mean it when we say we care a lot about what’s in your cup.
We’re constantly debating quality vs approachability vs price point vs trends vs ethical issues within coffee and supply chain issues and on and on and on.
All that to say, it’s validating to receive a nomination for best roaster since frankly, we fly pretty under the radar in that category. So, send a vote our way if you’re down with what we do!
Link it in bio!
02/17/2026
So yeah, we’re a coffee shop & roaster. But like, some of like beer and wine too. So we sell it all. And some of us, like this wild and crazy guy, really likes . So we keep cans of The Finest Brine stocked & ready in the fridge.
Come snag one this afternoon!
02/06/2026
SUGA LIPS!
Every valentimes, we pull out these cute ass mugs & make a lil strawberry syrup and put the Sugar Lips on the menu for a few weeks!
She’s cute as ever & available starting tomorrow, 2/4, along with a few others. Like our Basic Bee (a lavender latte), and the Pucker Punch (blackberry / fresh lime & topo).
ALSO, adding the SEASONAL JAMMER - an everything bagel with a housemade blackberry & golden berry jam, cream cheese & bee pollen.
Cruise through & snag one while you can, our full spring menu to come in March!
01/29/2026
ICE OUT 1/30
Frankly, it feels so lame posting literally anything on this app with what’s going on in the world. We WILL be open this Friday 1/30, because well, we gotta pay rent in 2 days. & so do our people.
But with that being said, we’ll be donating a portion of sales from us & our sister businesses, & to . A local non profit that focuses on immigration reform, migrant rights, family reunification and the prevention of migrant deaths along the border.
All our hearts are heavy but we’ve got a certain responsibility to be a place in our community where hopefully yours can find a little respite.
take care of each other.
12/27/2025
BREAKFAST BURRITOS.
We’ve been slangin’ these every weekend for the last 5+ years. eggs, tots, cheese, crema. housemade salsa. tried & true.
we’ve been doin’ them WEEKENDS ONLY for a longgggg time. Been thinking of changin’ that up in the new year….
but for now, weekends only, 7ish-noonish, or until we sell out. If you haven’t had one, whats up? do we need to talk?
12/23/2025
Holiday hours!
We’ve got normal hours today, abbreviated tomorrow & closed on Christmas Day.
We’ve got last minute mugs, shirts & of course- gift cards.
Also, this little holiday rain storm is great wasting-time-in-a-cafe weather. So come say what’s up & hang out for a bit.
Happy Holidays everyone!
12/13/2025
THE ROMAN HOLIDAY
So this is our own seasonal riff of a riff of the classic tiki cocktail, The Jungle Bird
cold brew / cappelletti / amaro / pineapple juice / allspice
So find some late afternoon sun, throw on a fluffy jacket, some italo-disco in your headphones, sit on our patio, & pretend you were spending Christmas in the Italian riviera, instead of on El Cajon Blvd. Drink 2 of them, you can thank us later.
Oh, and there’s a non-alc version featuring if that’s more your vibe. Still, follow the directions above for the full experience.
12/09/2025
We’re gettin festive over here yall, with garland & lights & fancy fun drinks. We’ve got some good stocking stuffers on the shelf, mugs & shirts and all that. Oh anddddd don’t forget gift cardsssss.
Also, to let you in on a little secret, our gift cards work at our other spots too! So even though it just says Scrim, feel free to swipe ‘em over at orrrr .
See ya soon!
12/06/2025
Well friends, the time has come. We’ve been quietly working on our new project, for over a year & the time has come to open our doors.
Did a big crowdfunding campaign last summer, collaborated with our buds .bread, found a great chef to helm our kitchen and built and crew of good humans to bring you our version of thoughtful neighborhood dining.
We share a wall, as in it’s literally right next door to the cafe.
Think seasonal small plates, fresh pasta & great pizza. We’ve got a small wine & beer list that we’ll be growing with time too. Oh! & Almost forgot- dessert. Incredible dessert.
We hope that you’ll join us soon. We highly encourage reservations, as our dining room fills up quickly. But there’s usually a place at the bar for smaller parties.
Peep the link in bio for more info & reservations. We hope to see you soon.
xoxo
12/02/2025
CHRISTMAS IN PARADISE PT II
Alright so to pick up where we left off, here’s some crowd pleasers as part of our menu.
THE GINGER COOKIE LATTE! Keepin it crowdpleasin’ with a classic christmas seasonal. House ginger syrup, a bit of vanilla, espresso & milk.
THE GRASS SKIRT! Our seasonal matcha offering. A matcha latte, with coconut cream, a lil ginger & milk.
Both of these drinks are so good hot or cold! Cant wait to make ya one!
see you sooooooon
11/30/2025
CHRISTMAS IN PARADISE PT I
Welllllll tis the season for holiday drinks. I’m sure you’ll be seein’ peppermint mochas & eggnog lattes all over the place butttt we decided to go a whole different route this year!
Because it never actually gets cold in San Diego…. we rolled out a line of seasonals this year that just feel a little closer to home. Oh, and all of these can be made BOOZY if ya need a little warmin’ up anyways (21+, for here only, obvi)
First up, SANTAS LAST SLEIGH. A cold brew based take on a pina colada. Cold brew / coconut / pineapple / fancy glassware & ridiculous garnish. Make it a sherry colada if you’re tryna have a little more fun ;)
Next, THE ROMAN HOLIDAY. This is our festive riff on The Jungle Bird. Cappelletti / Amaro / Coldbrew / Allspice / Pineapple juice. We’ve got a great N/A appertivo if ya wanna keep it responsible.
Last up, little winter spritz. JINGLE JUICE. Cranberry / pineapple / allspice & topped with tonic. Sub that tonic for Prosecco to make it twice as nice. ;)
Cruise on it and hang a while. We actually kinda decorated the shop this year! Pt II comin’ tomorrow!
Address
5542 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA
92115
To reach the location at El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego by public transport, you can take the bus to the nearest stop and then walk towards the destination. If you are driving, there is available parking nearby or on the street, but be mindful of any parking restrictions or time limits.
Opening Hours
| Monday |
7am - 3pm |
| Tuesday |
7am - 3pm |
| Wednesday |
7am - 3pm |
| Thursday |
7am - 3pm |
| Friday |
7am - 3pm |
| Saturday |
7am - 3pm |
| Sunday |
7am - 3pm |
Alerts
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What people say
Scrimshaw Coffee on El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego is a coffee shop that truly cares about its customers. With a stocked fridge and shelf of adult-only juice, there's something for every occasion. The baristas and cooks at Scrimshaw Coffee are hardworking individuals who are either in school, hustling a second job, or commuting 30+ minutes each way. Despite their busy schedules, they recently rolled out a whole new lunch menu featuring grilled chicken, tamago (egg salad + msg), cubano (slow-cooked for a minimum of so many hours), and other delicious sandwiches. What sets Scrimshaw Coffee apart from other cafes is their dedication to showing the people tasting and making the food rather than just pretty pictures of it. They even closed early one day to make sure everyone was on the same page about some big stuff they had cooking up. Overall, Scrimshaw Coffee is a must-visit spot for coffee lovers in San Diego who appreciate quality food and drinks made with care by hardworking individuals.
