Qisa Coffee, the Curtis Park café that has been quietly redefining Sacramento’s specialty coffee scene since opening in 2024, is expanding to 2121 Natomas Crossing Drive in North Natomas, owner Aziz confirmed to What Now Sacramento. The new location at the North Natomas Place shopping center is targeting a September opening, pending inspections and will be an upgraded version of the original spot, but with a more luxurious interior.
“I live in Natomas,” he said. “Natomas doesn’t have any good coffee shops here. I want to offer something special to the people of Natomas so they don’t have to go anywhere.”
Qisa Coffee isn’t just another café. The name comes from Qissa Khwani Bazaar, a centuries-old marketplace in Peshawar, Pakistan, known as the City of Storytellers, where community members have gathered for generations over cups of chai to share tales, debate ideas, and simply be together. Aziz, who immigrated to Sacramento from Peshawar in 2015, built his coffee shop around that same spirit.
The menu reflects his childhood in Pakistan as much as it does Sacramento’s growing specialty coffee culture. Standout drinks include an iced pistachio latte, an iced rose latte, and a signature shaken espresso that was so popular it went from a seasonal item to a permanent menu fixture. The banana matcha has developed its own cult following, and a Matcha Land event earlier this year drew lines out the door. Cardamom, pink chai, and premium-roasted beans weave Pakistani flavors throughout the menu, alongside savory sandwiches and baklava.
“I always consider this a community place where people come and brew their stories over drinks while chatting with others,” Aziz said. “That’s what we’re looking for in Natomas.”
