Picture this: You’re sitting in The Mental Bar, a coffee sanctuary in Encanto. You order “Sexual Chocolate”—not your typical cup of joe, but a refreshing mix of cold brew and strawberry lemonade. “It should taste like a chocolate-covered strawberry,” says co-owner Daneyel Walker with a smile. It’s unconventional, much like the space itself. The Mental Bar isn’t just about coffee; it’s about community, culture, and offering a place to think, relax, and connect.
Tommy and Daneyel Walker, this week’s Happy Half Hour guests, didn’t just want to open a coffee shop; they wanted to create a “third place” in a neighborhood that sorely needed it. “In Encanto, there wasn’t a real spot for people to decompress,” Tommy explains. The Mental Bar stepped in to fill that void, offering a sense of belonging with a side of joe. The Walkers have crafted an environment where students, freelancers, workers, and locals can find a seat, plug in, and feel at home.
It’s also a place to stimulate your mind, befitting the name. Beyond their coffee, they incorporate adaptogens to balance the caffeine high, ideally helping you avoid getting the jitters. “We’re looking into things that help us but don’t affect us in a bad way,” they explain, so each drink is a thoughtful fusion of flavor and function. The food menu includes classics from their childhood, like cinnamon toast and a BLT with “the perfect amount of bacon,” Daneyel promises. The social function of the space is supposed to aid in mental and physical wellness, too.
The Mental Bar became a refuge when the devastating floods hit Encanto this past January. “We were open during the flooding,” Daneyel recalls. “People were sitting inside, and we noticed water coming down.” With power outages and chaos directly outside (their spot is on a trolley line that flooded—footage of the damage went viral at the time), they had to shut down temporarily but quickly pivoted to offer help.
The Walkers opened The Mental Bar’s doors and provided laptops and resources for people to get the assistance they needed—he had a fleet of old machines from a previous company they owned. “We wanted to make sure the community was able to come to their coffee shop to get whatever information they needed,” Tommy says. It was a moment that solidified the shop’s role as more than a place to grab a caffeine fix; it was a lifeline.
The Mental Bar is located in the San Diego Black Arts and Culture District and attracts a diverse crowd in every sense of the word. Tommy describes it as “a melting pot of culture and ideas.” People from all walks of life find their way here, they explain, and it’s not uncommon to witness someone spot a fellow patron and say, “I can’t believe I’m seeing you here,” Tommy adds. It’s a gathering space where neighbors can meet and where cultural and social lines blur over a cup of cold brew.
For Tommy and Daneyel, The Mental Bar is their passion project. Tommy, a Navy veteran, was homeless for a time after his service many years ago. With a $1,000 windfall from his father, he and Daneyel got their first place together. “We used that as a down payment for a two-bedroom townhouse,” Tommy recalls.
Their vision for The Mental Bar stems from a desire to provide the “third place” they lacked growing up: a spot where cultures collide, everyone has a story, and people can support one another. But even more simply, a cool place to go and just be, which Encanto didn’t have before The Mental Bar came along. “This is 1,000 percent more fulfilling because we’re doing something we didn’t have growing up,” Tommy says.
“It’s a community, and I love it,” Daneyel adds. “It’s fulfilling to know we created this space.”
