(ROSEVILLE, Calif.) —The city of Roseville offers plentiful establishments to purchase one’s favorite espresso beverage yet few highlight minority cultures like the menu at one of the city’s newest cafes.
Nestled in the Nugget Plaza off of Pleasant Grove Boulevard, Rooftop Macarons has brought Roseville an extensive variety of Vietnamese drinks. The cafe opened its doors on July 10 and now approaches three months serving the local community.
Photo Credit: Sabina Khan Realtor / Tiktok / Exterior of Roseville’s Rooftop Macaron Cafe
Nancy Lee, the business owner, shared how the concept first began. As noted by Lee, the cafe is both minority and woman-owned.
“We started back in 2016 as a home-based business,” Lee shared. “That’s the reason why our name is called Rooftop Macaron. We started underneath our own rooftop.”
After amassing strong support by word of mouth, Lee’s growing clientele pushed her towards launching the cafe's first brick and mortar location. As plans fell into place, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Like many entrepreneurs, Lee was forced to delay opening the first Rooftop Macaron storefront.
The pandemic did not stop Lee, however. With the business concept’s emphasis on positive community outreach, Lee donated inventory surplus to hospitals, firefighters, and other first responders. While Rooftop Macarons had already secured a substantial following, community contributions like these helped further advertise her future business within the Sacramento region.
“It really got our name out there,” Lee said.
As the pandemic slowed, Rooftop was finally able to fully establish itself. In 2021, Rooftop Macaron opened its first location in nearby Elk Grove, Sacramento.
Rooftop’s specialty in traditional Viet coffee techniques and flavors initially made Lee uncertain about expanding the business into Roseville. As a precaution, Rooftop chose to adopt an espresso machine for the new location, offering traditional lattes, cappuccinos, and other popular coffee items for its new clientele.
“I was a little skeptical about bringing Vietnamese coffee here because it is very different,” Lee noted. “But I saw a lot of Filipino and Vietnamese restaurants opening so I thought it was a good time to join the community and it's been great.”
Photo Credit: Yelp / Rooftop’s “Phin Dip” Durian Egg Coffee and Ube Egg Coffee
Nguyen Supply Co., a widely available canned coffee retailer, describes Vietnamese coffee as stronger than espresso commonly consumed in Western societies. Typically brewed slowly using a “phin” metal filter, Viet drinks use Robusta beans as opposed to the conventional Arabica variety. Robusta coffee also contains twice as much caffeine. Despite ambivalence about community appreciation, the most popular Rooftop menu items remain flavored variations of this “phin drip” technique.
“The guests that come in are usually repeat Vietnamese coffee lovers,” Lee remarked.“Or, they come in getting espresso drinks and lattes and have transitioned to Vietnamese coffee, and I love that.”
After three months, Rooftop not only offers an eye-opening experience to those previously unfamiliar with Vietnamese culture but also a sustained dedication to community outreach.
“We are still really all about giving back to the community,” Lee said. “Recently we joined with Mayor Krista [Bernasconi] and did a lemonade stand for this kid named Noah.”
The Sept. 8 fundraiser was coordinated to provide Noah Whitaker, Roseville resident and Sierra College student, with a new wheelchair accessible van. Lee sees participation in these community initiatives as opportunities for traction and avenues to elevate cultural understanding.
“Being out there and people getting to know us, it just expands and allows them to see the [Vietnamese] culture part of Rooftop,” Lee noted.
OpGov.News spoke to two customers enjoying Rooftop Macarons on Oct. 12.
Charlie, a local Mike Shellito Pool employee, sat at a large window adjacent to a seated counter. Taking a break from reading their book, Charlie shared how they’ve been a frequent client for a couple of weeks now. An empty Peach Butterfly Iced Tea on the tabletop indicated the other Asian inspired boba offered at Rooftop.
“I don’t really go to cafes much but I found that I really like the atmosphere here,” Charlie said.
Lily Villareal, another Roseville client, emphasized Lee’s acknowledgement of the particular popularity among Viet coffee enthusiasts.
“It used to be a Pete’s so I figured why not try it. I also just really like Vietnamese coffee,” Villarreal shared. “More and more people keep telling me about this place so I don’t see [their popularity] slowing down at all.”
Photo Credit: Piper Aweeka / Rainbow of authentic and Vietnamese inspired macaron offerings
With a menu providing customers with items ranging from classic vanilla bean macarons to pistachio, coconut, and pandan “macamisu” (a tiramisu-macaron fusion), Rooftop continues to promote minority culture in the Roseville community.
Upcoming plans for Rooftop Macaron include the addition of macaron ice cream sandwiches and the development of lunch items.
More information and menu updates from the Roseville location can be found on their instagram.
If you’d like to add or correct anything in this report, feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment below. Submit Roseville tips and story ideas to Piper Aweeka at piper.a@lead4earth.org.
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