Kept seeing cafes in LA charging $7 for drip coffee and wondering why their regulars disappeared

I watched three shops near my spot on Sunset close in 6 months because they priced out the morning crowd that just wants a solid cup under $4, and when I asked one owner about it he said his beans were 'artisanal' like that justified losing 80% of his repeat business by 10am.

3 comments

3 Comments

nathana481mo ago

Take a look at their rent first before blaming the price. Most of those spots on Sunset are paying way more per square foot than they were five years ago. They raise coffee prices just to break even, not to get rich.

joelwells6d ago

Old habits die hard but raising prices without adding any real value just pushes people to the gas station or a drive-thru where they can get the exact same caffeine hit for half the cost. It feels like a lot of small business owners got sold on the "premium" coffee dream without realizing most of their customers just want a reliable, cheap cup to get through the morning grind. Paying more for rent means you have to be smarter about margins, not just hope people will accept a five dollar markup on something they've been buying for three bucks their whole lives.

the_zara1mo ago

and yeah rents are brutal out there i get that but you cant charge artisanal prices for something ppl just need to wake up to and expect them to stick around, feels like they forgot who pays the bills