All grown up. bica turns 1 this weekend.

above: bica celebrates landing 10,000 followers on Instagram. The patio will be packed this weekend as we celebrate the café’s one-year anniversary.

Last year, the day after Thanksgiving break concluded, I walked into my new neighborhood café and proclaimed boldly: “Hi, I’m Sam, I’m starting a creative agency.”

The barista greeted me warmly. Out on the patio, I met one of the chefs, who took note of my camera bag, and was kind enough to let me spout off about my new venture. He invited me to join a growing group of friends, creators and community members at an upcoming BYOB event.

The invitation felt genuine, so I returned to the patio the next day.

And the next.

And the next.

Soon enough, I learned that the invitation was both genuine and far from exclusive. The BYOB events were packed with exciting people eager to make a connection.

People showed up time and again, bringing in new friends, bringing their families — becoming family. The café I’d stumbled into was a true community, unlike any I’d been a part of in a long time.

One day, the chefs asked me to take photos of their food for publication in Eater San Diego. They were being recognized as one of the hottest restaurants in San Diego.

I didn’t even own a camera yet, having returned all of mine to The Union-Tribune when I left my job as Director of Photography and Video. So I ran around the corner and borrowed one from a friend.

That night, with a bunch of photos of the cafe now on my hard drive, I decided to build them a website. I showed up the next day and asked, “Would it be weird if I told you guys I built you a website without asking you?”

“A little bit,” they said. “But let’s see it.”

As I walked them through the website draft, I asked them to be my crash test dummies. I explained my vision for a creative agency that would help brands and businesses tell their own stories, on their own terms, on their own platforms, with visuals and copy the caliber of The New York Times. I showed them the quality of work Uptown 11 could provide and then kept showing up every day.

They rewarded the commitment with a commitment of their own. The chefs agreed to take Uptown 11 on as their creative agency — we were off and running.

That’s the kind of place bica is. A European-style café, borne in the spirit of San Diego’s Portuguese tuna fishing community. Its chefs and baristas operate with intention in the food they put on your plate daily and the feeling you have when you’re on the patio.

Their philosophies on food and their approach to community building are refreshing, particularly in a post-pandemic world where the costs of doing good work are high, and people are still rebuilding their lives and their connections to one another.

Their commitment to quality on both fronts is why you can find the owners climbing on top of the roof to hang new sun shades when the weather gets warm. It’s why the baristas grind the beans with the calculations of chemists and pour the frothy milk into the lattes with the hearts of artists.

On Sunday, bica celebrates its first anniversary — a milestone reached through grit, determination and with the support of a whole neighborhood. Its become a beloved destination in San Diego’s food scene for local chefs, foodies, coffee heads and anyone looking for a place to meet a friend or colleague in an environment that’s both elevated and comfortable.

I’ll be there to celebrate, and I hope you will, too. That’s how we grow community: together.

Happy birthday, bica.