The tiny castle in Walnut Creek is now a coffee bar with pour-overs and natural energy drinks

Panama Bay Coffee Co. is breathing new life into an iconic Walnut Creek building that’s been vacant for a decade.

Seven years in the making, Panama Bay at the Castle opened last month in the tiny, spire-topped brick building at the corner of California Boulevard and Bonanza Street in downtown Walnut Creek. The coffee shop offers hot and cold espresso drinks, pour-over coffees, housemade natural energy drinks, baked goods and more. It opens at 6 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. on weekends at 1499 N. California Blvd.

This marks the fourth location for the Bay Area-born coffee company, which started in 1993. The flagship cafe is located at 2115 First St. in Livermore. There are kiosks in Oakland and Vallejo, too.

You wouldn’t think a 355-square foot coffee shop would take seven years to open but that’s what happens when you’re juggling family life, running a business and dealing with construction woes, explains Panama Bay president and co-founder Steve Welty. A Walnut Creek resident since 1989, Welty remembers taking his kids for fro-yo when the vine-covered, Danish-style building was home to Yogurt Castle.

Welty started eyeing the vacant property in 2015. But his vision for “the castle” didn’t take shape until a few years later when he found the right contractor. Inside, the brick walls and inner tower are covered with signs displaying positive affirmations. Outside, a walk-up window on California Boulevard makes it easy to grab a latte or pastry on the go. A smiling greeter can often be spotted on the corner waving at drivers, just because.

“The castle is such a great setting, we want to be a place that enhances the experience of living here or visiting Walnut Creek,” Welty says.