Coffee Hero Tyler Wells Returns to Downtown With LA’s Nicest Shop

Tyler Wells has returned to the ownership game after a long stint consulting for coffee shops in Los Angeles and beyond. The Handsome Coffee Roasters co-founder has been keeping a lower public-facing profile since jumping in with Blacktop Coffee in the Arts District in 2014, but is now set to lead his own space again with Nice Coffee Bar on City National Plaza.

The small shop sits on Flower Street right in the plaza, and is the first entirely solo project for Wells. He’s had other projects under the greater Nice Coffee banner like his marketing and consulting arm, but this is the first branded coffee stop using the Nice name. Of course the title itself is a none-too-subtle jab to the old Handsome days, when Wells and company got some early bad press for their sometimes stodgy demeanor and refusal to let customers pour sugar in their drinks.

So now Wells will play Nice with a new self-described “jewel box” right in the plaza, surrounded by the outdoor seating already found there. Gensler designed the space, which offers tall windows that open up to become awnings and a wraparound poured bar for customers. There’s a pastry case for doughnuts too of course, and the whole thing collapses down into a compact cube at the end of the night.

Nice Coffee Bar will officially open for business on Friday, April 14, keepinghours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. And yes, the plan is for everyone who works there to be exceptionally nice.

Nice Coffee Bar
515 Flower St.
Los Angeles, CA

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