History
Prior to Camellia, Ryan was a coffee roaster for 5+ years, winning multiple awards before venturing out on his own. Rob had worked at more than a few cafes over the preceding years, as a barista, manager, barback, and everything in between. For both of them, one thing was true: they were dedicated to creating something special for the people of Sacramento.
Vision / Philosophy
Camellia was founded in 2016 on years of coffee experience, Sacramento pride, and a desire to do something different. The company that Ryan Harden and Rob Watson created aimed to make excellent coffee, but follow the path as it naturally unfolded, instead of striving toward what they already knew and saw coffee culture to be.
Both being from strong and proud backgrounds in the service industry, Ryan and Rob started the company as a small wholesale operation serving coffee to our friends’ bars, bakeries, and restaurants. In 2018, the cafe experience blossomed, in the primary stall of the WAL Public Market in the R Street Corridor, a historically industrial district of downtown that is now home to some of the most vibrant local flavor and taste in Sacramento. In the great pandemic of 2020, Camellia remained consistently open via a to-go window, providing something to look forward to in people’s uncertain days. Since then we’ve become wildly popular with breakfast sandwich lovers and quickly outgrew our shared space.
Camellia took over an old Starbucks location in the fall of 2022 and brought our roastery under the same roof. This allows our teams to work together as one and creates a solid foundation for a cohesive coffee experience. From here we continue to grow as a wildly popular cafe and coffee wholesaler with a footprint spanning the Sacramento region and beyond.