Today we’d like to introduce you to Nico Samaras.
Hi Nico, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I didn’t set out to build a brand or a car club. I just followed what I was genuinely drawn to: community, great design, and the feeling of driving something analog. The idea for Fourtillfour started with a desire to create a space where all of that could intersect. It began almost 10 years ago as a small coffee shop in Scottsdale, Arizona, with a parking lot that slowly turned into a gathering place for like-minded car enthusiasts. What happened next was organic. It blew up. A culture formed, and a first of its kind community took shape.
It grew naturally. Our events got bigger. Our merch started selling out faster than we could restock it. The culture started to build itself, and we focused on supporting it by curating the right products, hosting the right events, and eventually creating a membership club around the people who truly lived the lifestyle.
We’ve always tried to grow slowly and intentionally, making sure we protect the soul of what we’re building. Expanding to Leucadia felt like the right next step. It allowed us to deepen our work in coffee (we roast what we believe is some of the best around) and grow our niche car club in San Diego, which is mostly centered around vintage European vehicles. Leucadia had the same kind of energy.. creative, low-key, and deeply local. It reminded me of what Scottsdale felt like in the early days. It’s also been a destination for our car events from all over San Diego and Orange County.. Specifically our Air-cooled Porsche meet every first Saturday of the month 7-10am
This was also my second time coming to San Diego. My first was while stationed at Camp Pendleton in the Marine Corps. Coming back wasn’t just expansion, It felt like returning to where a lot of my own growth started and one of my favorite cities
Fourtillfour has always been about building something you’d want to be part of, even if it never scaled. That mindset is what made it grow.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. One of the biggest challenges has been managing growth without losing soul, especially in a new market like San Diego that hasn’t seen what we do or isn’t deeply tied to the brand yet. We’re intentionally trying to grow everything with purpose, especially the car club. It’s not about numbers. It’s about getting the right people and the right cars in, curating something that feels meaningful, not mass.
Opening in Leucadia came with its own set of challenges too. There are a lot of coffee shops here that have been around for a long time. So instead of trying to compete, we’ve just stayed focused on doing what we do, and what we do well staying true to quality (having the best roasted coffee) and our clear identity. That approach has worked for us. People have caught on. Our loyal customer base keeps growing, and that’s been one of the most rewarding parts of it all. This shop ended up being the right choice.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Fourtillfour is a café in Leucadia open to the public and a members-only car club. We roast all our coffee in-house, and the café is tucked away near the post office on Coast Highway in a hidden garden space. It’s become a go-to for locals looking for some of the best coffee in San Diego.
We run a private car club focused on vintage European vehicles, but also welcome rare, interesting, and well-loved cars, including modern exotics. Every first Saturday of the month, we host an air-cooled Porsche meetup that draws passionate drivers from all over Southern California (non members)
Our community is intentionally curated, built around people who care about design, culture, and the machines they drive.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I learned that the best work and the strongest connections come when you’re having fun and staying true to what you believe in. That applies to branding, leadership, and building culture. The more I leaned into what made our brand different and enjoyed the process the more things resonated with others. We try to stay extremely authentic to our core audience
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fourtillfour.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourtillfour/ | https://www.instagram.com/fourtillfourcarclub/ | https://www.instagram.com/fourtillfourencinitas/
