The First Blue Bottle in LA Opened Quietly in Downtown

Photo by Elizabeth Daniels

Ever so quietly, Blue Bottle turned over the switch at Handsome Coffee in the Arts District last night, shutting down all social media channels and updating the website to reflect the new ownership. Blue Bottle, the highly lauded Oakland coffee roaster, now officially occupies the space at 528 Mateo Street, where three ex-Intelligentsia employees founded one of L.A.'s earlier hipster coffee roasters.

As for the offerings, well, there's sugar on the counter now, meaning that coffee drinkers can now sweeten their coffee. But other than that, things aren't too different at the moment. Office workers and residents can still enjoy great specialty coffee roasted on site. In addition, that great New Orleans-style iced coffee and some baked goods by Caitlin Freeman, like cookies.

This will be the place where Blue Bottle will continue to roast and grow, the home base for its now four other locations planned around town, from Venice and Culver City, to Beverly Blvd and Echo Park. But this little whimper of a transition is the first of greater coffee things to come. Eventually, they're opening to take over the next door space, but that will be in the distant future. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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