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Fairgrounds Coffee Perks Up the Western Edge of Downtown This Week

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The Chicago-based company expands to the West Coast

Fairgrounds
The exterior of Fairgrounds Coffee
Aliza J. Sokolow
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

The completely overhauled Mayfair Hotel, just west of Downtown near Westlake, is already proving to be a culinary and hospitality jewel box. Now the reconstructed Jazz Age property is coming fully online with the arrival this week of Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea at the corner of the building.

Fairgrounds may sound familiar already, given the prominence of the name in Chicago. The roaster-agnostic coffee shop doesn’t rely on beans from a single source, instead letting customers choose for themselves while also taking away beans for at-home use.

Fairgrounds
Sunny seating

There are other takeaway goods as well, like juices, pastries, and the like, plus teas, matcha, and on-tap drinks like kombucha. Expect beans from Verve, Stumptown, Dark Matter, Ritual, and more.

Morning attendees can expect plush banquette seating and stools (16 spots in total), plenty of sunlight, and lots of greenery inside, with a marble counter up front for those in need of grab-and-go service on the quick. There will also be a limited daytime menu of items like sandwiches and salads offered from the kitchen. Hotel guests or anyone sticking around long enough for dinner can also check out the Eve American Bistro just across the tall, sprawling lobby, or head to the back for a stiff drink at the newly-opened library bar.

Expect early morning pre-work hours, with baristas pouring daily as early as 6 a.m. Fairgrounds Coffee officially opens on Wednesday, August 15.

Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea. 1256 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, CA.

Fairgrounds
Looking towards the front
Fairgrounds
Lots of greenery
Fairgrounds
Coffee options for purchase