For Strip District staple La Prima Espresso, coffee beans and innovation have always gone hand in hand. In its soon-to-be newest location at Nova Place–previously known as Allegheny Center–La Prima will surely feel at home.
“La Prima felt like a natural fit for us in the redevelopment of Nova Place,” says Brad Ott, vp of commercial operations for Nova Place developer Faros Properties. When Ott’s team started looking for a local coffee joint, they kept hearing La Prima’s name. An institution in the Strip District, La Prima’s Italian-style espresso bar has a reputation as being one of the best coffee spots in town.
La Prima Espresso is a perfect fit with tenants like Innovation Works, says Mike Bogdan, La Prima’s operations manager. “We’ve been in the tech community in Pittsburgh for so long, I think we’ve indoctrinated a whole generation of software engineers, computer programmers and engineers with La Prima coffee,” Bogdan says. “We’ve been on the Carnegie Mellon campus for about 24 years in Wean Hall.”
Many of La Prima’s CMU customers have transitioned from students to employees and founders of Pittsburgh tech startups, who now choose La Prima as their primary coffee provider in the office.
La Prima will occupy a space in Nova Place’s Mall concourse, directly adjacent to Alloy 26, soon to be the region’s largest collaborative workspace. Coworkers in Alloy 26 will be steps away from a walk-up window in the coworking space.
The shop in Nova Place will be La Prima’s third location in the city. The roaster distributes to more than 100 locations in the Pittsburgh area and has a roasting facility in Manchester.
The partnership with La Prima is one of many upgrades Faros has announced for the 1.5 million-square-foot Nova Place. New restaurants, a renovated outdoor plaza and plans for a fitness center are also in the works.
La Prima at Nova Place will open its doors in May.
