Pictured above (left to right): Phil Jaber (founder of Philz Coffee, AsianFusionGirl, Mayor Edwin Lee)

If you’re a coffee lover, if you’re a lover of small businesses or if you’re a supporter of great people growing great businesses, Philz Coffee should be at the top of your favorites list, as it is on mine. I was fortunate to be part of the celebration in the latest opening of a Philz Coffee on Golden Gate in San Francisco on Tuesday March 26th, 2013.

In less than half an hour, the large contemporary space went from being occupied by Phil and his team to full capacity with ardent Philz fans, local news, national coffee connoisseurs and San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. My obsession at Philz is the unique and comforting Mint Mojito (yes, it’s a coffee drink) along with the perfectly sweetened and chocolaty Mocha Tesora. (Check out my review naming Philz one of my global favorites here).

On this perfect sunshine-filled bay area day, many of us came to celebrate the Godfather of coffee, Phil Jaber and the hard work of his entire team. Besides serving up America’s best coffee, Philz lives up to its’ motto of making people happy with every drop of love-filled beverages. These coffee houses are a San Francisco institution, lifting spirits, creating friendships, jobs and a sense of local pride through supreme quality and genuine service. Mayor Ed Lee did the honor of ribbon cutting while speaking of the immense importance of a new Philz in San Francisco’s colorful Tenderloin district, known more for crime than gourmet coffee.

If there’s anything that can revitalize a depressed area and lift it into a hot, happening and safer area, Philz is the magic key. With the Mayor’s office just blocks away, plenty of office buildings nearby and the Asian Art Museum steps away, I’d bet on Mayor Lee being right- a new Philz in the Tenderloin will set the trend for years to come.