Iron & Steam, a Pop-Up Espresso Bar

Iron & Steam
at Hi-Lo Club, 1423 Polk St., Nob Hill
Web: facebook.com/hilosf
Status: Opening tomorrow

The year-old Polk Street cocktail bar Hi-Lo Club has expanded its operations with new coffee bar Iron & Steam, which is popping up inside the bar during daylight hours. It's a casual stand offering espresso drinks made with Chromatic Coffee, a San Jose-based roaster, and pulled from a fully restored 1954 Gaggia lever machine, the only one of its kind in operation in the Bay Area. The owner is Olyver Nisch, whose wife is one of the partners in Hi-Lo; he taught himself to repair a 1970s Gaggia, and then went to work on restoring this model.

Nisch is assisted by manager and barista Heather Cummings, who formerly worked as a bartender at the House of Shields. The duo plan to add pastries from a local producer sometime soon, but haven't finalized anything yet. They're open every day but Monday, from 8:30 am-3:30 pm.