Cafe makeover coming to Tower District. And the owners are two very well-known companies

Two of Fresno’s fastest growing businesses, Lanna Coffee Co. and Ampersand Ice Cream, are teaming up and taking over Mia Cuppa Caffe in the Tower District.

The popular cafe will be renamed The Revue. Yes, that’s right. The partners are bringing back the name the cafe had for 16 years before being sold to Mark and Wendy DeRaud.

The DeRauds, artists turned business owners, operated the Olive Avenue cafe for nearly four years but decided to exit the cafe business after several ups and downs.

The new Revue will close for a few weeks for some sprucing up, including installation of new equipment. The goal is to reopen by late July. When that happens, the space will become a full-service coffee house serving Lanna’s premium, locally roasted coffee, cold brew and specialty drinks made with Ampersand Ice Cream.

Ice cream drinks will include coffee floats, milk shakes and affogato, a dessert made with vanilla ice cream drowned in a shot of espresso.

Bryan Feil, chief executive officer at Lanna, said the two companies have talked for a long time about collaborating and the timing was right to open a cafe. Ampersand is owned and operated by Jeff and Amelia Bennett.

“We all share the same values of why we created businesses in Fresno,” Feil said. “And we all bring different assets to the business.”

Feil said he is excited about taking over the cafe, appreciates the support the Tower District has given it over the years and hopes to build on that by offering new products and services.

Along with coffee drinks, people will be able to fill their growlers with Lanna’s cold brew.

The DeRauds won’t be exiting the picture entirely. They want to continue holding art classes and painting parties in the rear portion of the cafe.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Cafe makeover coming to Tower District. And the owners are two very well-known companies."