VISTA — After a year of transition for Ascend Coffee Roasters, including relocating from its longtime location at San Marcos Restaurant Row to a new shop in La Costa, the shop is now expanding its presence with a unique second location in Vista.
The new shop officially opened on Monday in The Commons, a former Walgreens location along South Santa Fe Avenue that has been transformed into an urban event space. Ascend will be open every day except Sundays, when New Community Church, the building’s owner, utilizes it for church services.
With 10,000 square feet of indoor space and a back patio, The Commons is envisioned as a community hub and event space, located approximately half a mile from the downtown area.
Ascend Coffee owner Erin Harper said she is eager to foster an environment similar to the original location at Restaurant Row, where residents could find live music, knitting groups, and gatherings of cyclists.
“This was really an upcycle, bringing the building back to life,” Harper said. “I can’t wait to use it the way we used to in San Marcos.”




Ascend offers an extensive menu of coffee and tea drinks, as well as breakfast and lunch food options including pastries, bagels, burritos, sandwiches, toasts and smoothie bowls.
Starting as a roasting enterprise, Ascend also offers two dark roasts, one medium roast, one light roast, and a decaf option. Each uses single-origin beans from different locations around the world, including Costa Rica, New Guinea, and Ethiopia.
With the start of this new chapter, Harper said she focused on taking things one day at a time, just as she did with the opening of the La Costa store last winter. That location is now firmly on its feet, and she is looking forward to the Vista location drawing new customers as well as those who frequented the San Marcos store.
“I’ve seen so many of our San Marcos customers that I haven’t seen in over a year,” Harper said on Monday.
The coffee shop’s original location at Restaurant Row in San Marcos, previously known as Old California Coffee Company, closed after a mixed-use development was approved for the property. Harper had worked there for over a decade before buying the business in 2022 and operating it under the Ascend Roasting brand.
Harper recently moved to Vista and said she is excited to grow even stronger roots in the community.
Ascend Coffee in Vista is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Saturday at 802 S. Sante Fe Ave. The Carlsbad location is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day at 3231 Camino De Los Coches #107.
Customers can also visit ascendroasters.com to order food and drinks for pickup or order bags of whole-bean coffee for home delivery.
Large events at The Commons, such as retreats, cocktail hours, or weddings, are managed by Common Sense Events.