TL;DR
Andytown Coffee Roasters built something real — a founder-led SF roastery where craft, team culture, and one standout drink shaped everything that followed.
- The Snowy Plover (espresso cream soda) became their second best-selling drink and a cult favourite across six locations
- At peak, bottled Pellegrino to make it was costing ~$40K/year per location
- Switching to Vivreau solved the waste, cost, and consistency problem in one move
- Now Andytown is bringing the Snowy Plover to the global stage at World of Coffee, powered by Vivreau
Built on Craft, Curiosity, and a Little Bit of Sparkle
Some businesses are carefully planned. Others are built in motion, shaped day by day through instinct, hard work, and a deep care for the craft.
Andytown Coffee Roasters is firmly the latter.
When Michael McCrory and Lauren Crabbe opened Andytown Coffee Roasters, their first café and roastery in San Francisco in 2014, there was no separation between founder and operator. They were roasting coffee, baking pastries, serving customers, cleaning the space, ordering ingredients, and closing up at the end of the day, only to start again the next morning.
“It was first just me and Lauren,” Michael says. “We were roasting coffee, bagging coffee, serving people, baking our pastries, cleaning it up, buying all the ingredients. We quit a few times in the first few months,” he adds, laughing.
That kind of beginning shapes how a company grows.
“One of the really beautiful pieces is that we brought the ethos of building a space where we would have wanted to work, growing up.”
For them, that meant more than just amazing coffee. It meant paying people fairly, respecting the work, and creating an environment where the team feels valued and invested. And when a team feels that way, it shows. In the energy behind the bar, in the way drinks are made, and in the experience customers walk away with.
Today, Andytown has grown well beyond those early days. But that same spirit still runs through everything they do.
The Snowy Plover: Bubbles, Balance, and a Little Bit of Surprise
Some drinks are ordered. Others are an experience.
Some drinks are ordered. Others are an experience.
The Snowy Plover is firmly the latter.
Served over ice, it brings together sparkling water, espresso, brown sugar syrup, and whipped cream in a way that feels both unexpected and intentional. The bubbles lift the espresso upward, carrying brightness through the glass. The sweetness rounds it out, while the cream softens the edges. It’s layered, textured, and just a little surprising, playful in feel, but grounded in precision.
“The Snowy Plover is our second best-selling drink on our menu,” Lauren says. “It is an espresso cream soda, so the water consistency is super important for us.”
The idea behind it draws from the world of barista competitions, where drinks are often deconstructed, expressive, and highly technical. But unlike those one-off presentations, this one had to work in a real café, at real speed, and at scale.
“We wanted something that felt like a competition drink,” Michael explains, “but something you could actually serve.”
That balance, between creativity and execution, is where Andytown thrives.
Where Craft Meets Growth
The Snowy Plover didn’t just stay on the menu. It took on a life of its own. What began as a creative expression quickly became a customer favourite, one that people return for, talk about, and introduce to others. A delight, shared. A community, built.
As that reputation grew, so did the business.
From its original Ocean Beach café, just steps from the water, Andytown has expanded to nine locations across Bay Area. Each one carries the same sense of brightness and ease, spaces that feel connected to their neighbourhoods, whether it’s a post-beach coffee, a morning pastry, or a familiar stop woven into someone’s daily routine.
Behind the scenes, they continue to roast their own coffee and bake in-house, building a menu that reflects both technical skill and a sense of play. It’s a balance they’ve become known for, drinks that feel inventive but approachable, and a café experience that feels thoughtful without ever feeling overworked.
And with that growth came a new layer of complexity, especially behind the bar.
Andytown Coffee Cut $40K in Annual Costs by Ditching Bottled Sparkling Water
In the early days, the Snowy Plover was made using bottled sparkling water. It delivered the consistency they needed for the drink itself, but operationally, it quickly became difficult to sustain. Even at that stage, it added up quickly, roughly $800 per week, or more than $40,000 annually for a single location. And as Andytown expanded, those costs would have scaled alongside it.
When the Bubbles Start Stacking Up
There were practical challenges too. Bottles running out mid-service, temperature inconsistencies, and extra handling behind the bar that slowed things down just enough to matter.
So, in true founder fashion, Michael built a carbonation system himself, creating a more controlled and efficient way to deliver the drink.
It worked. Moving from bottles to a controlled system immediately improved flow, reduced cost, and gave the team more control. It was a smart, scrappy solution, and an important step forward.
As Andytown continued to grow, that first system gave way to other water dispenser brands. Each one improved on the last, but the goal stayed the same, finding something that could keep up operationally while maintaining consistency in the glass.
That search ultimately led them to Vivreau.
A system that keeps up
Andytown’s current setup includes the Vivreau V3-205 micro-filtered water system, designed to deliver chilled still and sparkling water with a compact footprint and consistent output. The V3-205’s is a workhorse, with water output at 80 litres/hour (21 gallons/hour).
“It’s a small box, easy install, low footprint. It’s quieter, there’s less heat, and it just works,” Michael says.
For Michael, what stood out went a bit deeper than functionality. It was how the system handled something he already paid close attention to – how to create the perfect bubble. At that point, the system becomes part of the rhythm of the bar, supporting the work without interrupting it.
The kind of partnership that sticks
For Andytown, choosing a system isn’t just about performance. It’s about who stands behind it.
That kind of trust doesn’t just support operations. It supports growth.
Water That Respects the Coffee
From competition inspiration to global stage
The idea for the Snowy Plover was inspired by the world of barista competitions, where creativity, technique, and storytelling come together in a single drink.
Now, that same drink is coming full circle.
At the upcoming World of Coffee event, Andytown will be serving the Snowy Plover, bringing it into a global gathering of coffee professionals, baristas, and enthusiasts. The delightful sparkling water bubbles will be on tap courtesy of Vivreau, and hosted in La Marzocco’s booth.
Set in the afternoon, it’s a fitting choice. After a day of tasting, judging, and celebrating coffee at its highest level, the Snowy Plover offers something different, a refreshing, sparkling lift that feels both energizing and unexpected.
A small moment of surprise, grounded in craft.
Still building, still evolving
When speaking with Michael and Lauren about Andytown, you can feel the passion for the craft. The care. The curiosity. There’s a sense of confidence in what they’ve built, and an excitement for where it will go next.
At Vivreau, we’re proud to support that work in a small way, and grateful to Andytown for sharing a story that reflects what thoughtful, creative growth can look like when it’s built with intention from the start.
Latest Posts
