Chocolate Fish Coffee opens in downtown Modesto, ‘sense of community’ served daily
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters is now open in downtown Modesto, in the space formerly occupied by Preservation Coffee.
The shop had a soft opening Monday, Feb. 23, with plans for a grand opening toward the end of March.
Sisters Afsheen Kiran and Sonia Naz are the franchise owners of the Modesto location, a regional outpost of the Sacramento-based coffee roasting company and café.
The company’s name comes from a “fish-shaped confection indigenous to New Zealand given out as a ‘Thank you’ for a good deed,” according to its website.
“We see Modesto as a place where neighbors stop and talk, and we’ve experienced some of that already. While the renovations were happening, we had people stopping in, looking at the location, asking what’s going on. There was a real sense of community, and I think that’s what we wanted for the brand to have,” Kiran said.
Originally from England, Kiran and Naz were devoted tea drinkers. They moved to the United States in 2009 and were introduced to the coffee and matcha culture primarily through Kiran’s daughter, who would insist on a coffee stop when they ran errands or went on vacation.
“We would pop into a really cute coffee shop and just talk over coffee, and gradually we became coffee lovers,” Kiran said.
Last year, the sisters got serious about starting a coffee business and connected with family friends Ali Syed and Asif Alvi, the owners of Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters and cafés throughout Sacramento.
The company was founded by New Zealand natives Andy and Edie Baker in 2008 and acquired by Syed and Alvi in 2023. Syed and Alvi sought to expand the business through a franchise model, and the Modesto store is the first location.
“It took a little bit of time back and forth, but then when this location came up in Modesto, it just fit,” Naz said. “The first time we went into the shop, we fell in love with it. It was such a unique place, with the mezzanine and everything else,” she said.
In December, Preservation Coffee & Tea announced it was closing after 13 years, when owner Paul Tremayne sold the shop to Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters. The renovations took two months, and the space has been updated with modern wood finishes, new lights and fresh paint. New tables with leather-style chairs line the sides, and the mezzanine has a high-top seating bar overlooking the café.
A story in The Bee reported that Preservation Coffee baristas were offered positions at the new business, but the unknown timeline to reopen made it difficult for the former employees to commit. Kiran said they went through a rigorous hiring process and are fully staffed with 10 employees.
“We want every cup to feel very approachable and intentionally crafted as well, and that was part of the training of our baristas,” Kiran said. We want them to have that knowledge of how we roast the coffee, what kind of flavors we have, and pass that on to our customers.”
Chocolate Fish roasts its coffee beans in Sacramento and focuses on bringing out the unique flavors of the variety. “We focus on highlighting the beans’ natural sweetness and brightness. We have medium roasted beans, which give the coffee a clean, vibrant taste rather than the bitterness,” Naz said. She said their beans have notes of chocolate, nuts, citrus and fruit.
The menu reflects the shop’s mission of intentionally crafted coffee, offering its signature flat white, a double shot of espresso with steamed milk and microfoam, and iced coffee using Japanese-style flash brew.
Kiran and Naz said their lavender mint latte and honeycomb latte are customer favorites, as is their matcha latte. They serve herbal and loose-leaf teas and hot chocolate with marshmallows and sprinkles for the kids.
“As far as food goes, we have the avocado toast, which is amazing,” Naz said. Sourdough toast is topped with smashed avocado, extra-virgin olive oil and lemon, or can be ordered with “the works,” which includes radish, sunflower sprouts and nut dukkah. An egg can be added for an additional charge.
If sweets are preferred, toasts can be topped with jam and almond butter, fruit, honey and cocoa nibs. Chocolate Fish has a small baked goods case with muffins, brownies, cookies and other pastries, including options for vegans and gluten-free lifestyles.
The shop even serves chocolate and vanilla ice cream, from Sacramento favorite Gunther’s. It’s served by the scoop or in an affogato, which is a scoop of ice cream with an espresso shot poured over the top.
Coffees start at $3.99, and toasts at $6.50. The shop also sells bags of roasted beans and teas.
Kiran and Naz said they are excited to continue the legacy of coffee and community at the storied space at 1030 J St., which has been a café since 1989. It was first Plantation Coffee, then J Street Cafe, then Serrano’s Social Club, and lastly Preservation Coffee before the reopening this week.
“This is a real opportunity to carry forward that tradition of specialty coffee and community connections,” Kiran said. Chocolate Fish Coffee is now open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 2:53 PM.
