If you walked by Hole in the Wall Coffee after hours, you might not even notice it’s there. The North Beach coffee shop’s name is quite literal: The 27-square-foot space with a walk-up window is barely big enough for one person to fit inside.

But when the cafe’s windows are flung open under its blue awning, you can’t miss it. That’s partly because of the upbeat jazz piping out of the speakers, and partly because of the intriguing menu, with coconuts stacked on the counter and drinks named after hair colors. But mostly, it’s because of owner Nick Floulis’ infectious charisma. 

“Well, hello! How are you?” he calls out cheerfully to an approaching neighbor. It’s the day after the Warriors won the NBA championship, and San Franciscans are looking a little worse for the wear. The neighbor orders a coconut. 

“My dear, in light of your hangover, it’s going to be the biggest coconut in the cooler,” Floulis tells her, cracking the fruit open in one fluid motion and sticking in a straw. Her face lights up.

Floulis seemingly knows everybody in North Beach. One neighbor stops by to thank him for getting her a job interview; he greets another with a high-octane “Oh, birthday boy!” Every item on the menu seems to be the subject of an inside joke with his regulars — a strongly caffeinated concoction called “Pookie” is rumored to be the instigation for someone’s night in the slammer.

But even those Floulis doesn’t know receive an equally warm welcome. When a couple visiting from North Carolina stops to gawk at the quirky little coffee stand, Floulis coaxes them into ordering the most complex-tasting pour-over on the menu (the “redhead,” a medium-light roast from Ethiopia). Soon enough, they’re bantering with the rest of the regulars loitering on the sidewalk. 

Hole in the Wall could probably get by on its offbeat factor and Floulis’ charm alone, but it also happens to serve a damn good cup of coffee. 

The shop’s beans are roasted exclusively by San Leandro roaster Mark Micheletti, with roasts listed from light to dark on a wooden menu board: blonde, redhead, brunette and North Beach. Customers can also order espresso, cold brew, tea, coconut cold brew and a coconut or a muffin top when in need of a snack. But no cappuccinos or anything involving steamed milk are found at the cafe — the space is just too small. 

Owner Nick Floulis pours a drip coffee at Hole in the Wall Coffee in North Beach in San Francisco on June 23, 2022.

Hole in the Wall is located at an address designated as a historic landmark. In 1944, 524 Union St. was home to the Paper Doll, considered San Francisco’s first LGBTQ restaurant and nightclub. 

“Our space was previously the stairwell to the basement bar of the Paper Doll,” Floulis explained. “And then I believe in the ’70s they filled in the floor and opened up the window. It’s been everything from a place where they made keys to a frame shop.”

After that, the historic space became a jewelry shop, and most recently, a cupcake shop called Mission Minis. But when the owner of the cupcake shop decided to move out of San Francisco nearly a decade ago, Floulis’ buddy Zac Green saw an opportunity. 

“He realized the No. 1 question that [the cupcake baker] received was, ‘Hey, do you have coffee?’” Floulis recounted. “So he said, ‘Hey, let’s turn this into a little coffee shop.’”

Hole in the Wall Coffee opened in March 2013, born of Green’s mission to “facilitate conversations on the sidewalk between locals and visitors, people walking dogs and just people passing by,” he told Hoodline in 2015.

When Green moved to Bakersfield in 2015 to help his wife run her family citrus farm, Floulis took over. Floulis has a background in restaurants and wine, from co-founding North Beach’s Chubby Noodle to running a Napa Valley wine brand called Pushback Wines. Currently, he’s in the process of opening another North Beach restaurant called Lillie Coit's in the former Washington Square Bar & Grill space (a historic Herb Caen haunt also known as the Washbag). 

Floulis didn’t have a background in coffee, but “as I learned more and more about coffee, I realized how damn similar it was to wine,” he said.

Meanwhile, he’s certainly kept Green’s vision of Hole in the Wall as a conversational hub alive. He greets each patron warmly, and when he shifts his attention to greet someone else, coffee-sippers start gabbing with each other. 

While the bar stools that used to sit under the shop’s blue awning disappeared during the pandemic, a few tiny folding chairs and tables on the sidewalk now offer a place to set up shop. 

A woman named Ruby in an eye-catching red beret and watermelon-patterned jacket — whom Floulis winkingly refers to as one of Hole in the Wall’s “celebrities” — often passes a sunny North Beach afternoon there on a folding chair. She recently celebrated her 77th birthday party at the cafe. 

Ruby is a longtime Hole in the Wall Coffee regular who recently celebrated her 77th birthday at the cafe.

“I spent 8 hours here one day, just sitting here,” said Preston Hudson, a regular who used to live right across the street. “It's less about the coffee, it’s more about the environment. But the coffee’s also great. It's almost like a speakeasy of the coffee world. If you know, you know.”

Early on in the pandemic, when most social activities were off the table, Hole in the Wall’s completely outdoor location made it even more popular. Bored of being cooped up in their homes, neighbors congregated on the sidewalk to chitchat from a safe distance.

“This was largely responsible for keeping North Beach vibrant during the lockdown,” said David Asher, a regular who says he’s been visiting the address since it was a jewelry store. 

While some have been dropping by Hole in the Wall for years, quite a few of the coffee shop’s regulars are newcomers to North Beach. 

“There's been so much change in the neighborhoods in the city. So many people left,” Floulis said. “But the pendulum has swung and so many cool new neighbors are moving in now. And so, I always joke that I meet them second. They move into their apartment, meet their landlord, and then what do they do? They're like, ‘What's going to be my local place for a cup of coffee?’”

Nick Floulis, working in his coffee booth, talks with regular customer Jamie Gough at Hole in the Wall Coffee in North Beach in San Francisco on June 23, 2022.

It’s no surprise that once new neighbors meet Floulis (“This guy’s a comedian,” jokes one; another compares him to infomercial king Ron Popeil), they become repeat customers. It’s the magnetic sort of place that feels reminiscent of an older era of San Francisco, where the honor system is alive and well and it's not uncommon for a neighbor to step in and cover a shift for an hour or two.

“It’s a little bit more bar-like than standing in the queue at a traditional coffee shop, looking down at your phone,” Floulis explained. “That's just not the kind of experience you're going to get at Hole in the Wall. … I just feel like people were looking for that kind of interaction and they've missed it for a couple of years.”

Nick Floulis holds his Coco Cold Brew at Hole in the Wall Coffee in North Beach in San Francisco on June 23, 2022.

The space may be so tiny that Floulis regularly bruises his knees bumping into the freezer, but he can’t get enough of it. And that energy is contagious.

“The environment that he produces when he's behind there … everyone loves him,” Hudson said. “He’s built a little community on your way to Washington Square Park.”

Hole in the Wall Coffee, 524 Union St., San Francisco. Open daily, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Madeline Wells is a reporter for SFGATE covering food and drink in the Bay Area. She grew up in the Seattle area and received her B.A. in English and Media Studies from UC Berkeley. Prior to SFGATE, she was an associate editor at East Bay Express and freelance writer covering the Bay Area music scene. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com