From Cart to Café Dirty Latte Co., a Los Angeles-born specialty coffee brand, has opened its first brick-and-mortar café at Water Garden in Santa Monica. The 800-square-foot location in Water Garden's 26th Street lobby marks the next phase for founder Guy Blanco, who launched the concept as a small coffee cart at the same property four years ago. The café operates Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and serves Dirty Latte's signature menu alongside grab-and-go food items developed through partnerships with local businesses @eatvesti and @nonnamercato.

Culture-Inspired Drinks Blanco, a Carson and Long Beach native, designed the brand around the multicultural communities of his upbringing. The menu blends Filipino, Mexican, Asian, and Latin flavor influences with specialty coffee and matcha. Signature offerings include the Ube Leche and a matcha lineup featuring Matcha Mami, Strawberry Matcha, and Banana Matcha. Dirty Latte Co. serves single-origin Brazilian espresso with a medium-dark roast, selected for smooth caramel-chocolate notes to complement signature drinks. A single-origin Colombian decaf from Huila rounds out the coffee offering. "Growing up in such a diverse community exposed me to so many different cultures, foods and flavors, which became a huge inspiration behind Dirty Latte Co.," said Blanco. "We didn't want to create just another coffee shop. We wanted something that felt authentic to us, our upbringing and the communities we grew up around. Our drinks combine familiar flavors from Filipino, Mexican and other Asian and Latin influences with specialty coffee and matcha. Even our drink names are playful because we don't believe specialty coffee has to be intimidating or overly serious."

Growth From the Ground Up Blanco's coffee journey began in college, when he worked at a local coffee shop for two years.

He discovered his passion extended beyond drink-making to the community connections the experience created. After launching Dirty Latte Co. with a coffee cart at Water Garden in 2022, the business expanded into a mobile coffee van for events before returning to its origin point with the permanent location. "Water Garden has always felt like home to us. We started here with just a coffee cart, built relationships with tenants and regular customers, and were able to grow alongside the community," said Blanco. "Over time, we went from people discovering us for the first time to having regulars who knew us, knew our drinks and genuinely supported the business. That support has been a huge part of the Dirty Latte story."

Campus Integration Water Garden management views the café's evolution as part of the property's strategy to foster independent entrepreneurship and energy. The 17-acre commercial campus houses tenants including Amazon and Sony. Bess Wyrick, Marketing Director at CBRE, said: "There's a real warmth and spirit to the experience that people connect with at Dirty Latte. It also filled an important need as the only dedicated coffee concept at Water Garden. Watching it grow from a cart to a truck and now to a permanent retail location has been really exciting." Wyrick added: "Our goal is to create a retail mix that feels useful, distinctive and genuinely relevant to the people who work at Water Garden and live in the surrounding community. We're looking for concepts that add energy and personality to the campus—great food and beverage, everyday conveniences, and experiences that give people reasons to come together and stay awhile. Ultimately, we want the retail experience to elevate Water Garden from a traditional office campus to a vibrant neighborhood destination."

Why It Matters

For independent F&B operators and landlords, Dirty Latte's trajectory demonstrates the market value of authentic, community-focused concepts in office-campus settings. The brand's ability to graduate from a cart through mobile catering to permanent retail—all within the same property—underscores how strategic location selection and genuine tenant relationships can drive sustainable growth in competitive urban markets.

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Written by FBM Publications Editors

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Dirty Latte Co.'s operating hours and location?

The café is at Water Garden in Santa Monica's 26th Street lobby—an 800-square-foot space. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., so you're looking at a weekday-focused model, not weekend coverage.

What coffee does Dirty Latte Co. actually use?

They're serving single-origin Brazilian espresso with a medium-dark roast for smooth caramel-chocolate notes, plus single-origin Colombian decaf from Huila. That's a deliberate, curated bean strategy—not commodity coffee.

How did Dirty Latte Co. transition from cart to brick-and-mortar?

Founder Guy Blanco ran a coffee cart at Water Garden for four years before opening this permanent café. That's real product validation at the same location before committing capital to a build-out.

Who's supplying the food items at the café?

Dirty Latte partnered with local operators @eatvesti and @nonnamercato for grab-and-go food development. This isn't in-house production—it's a local-partnership model to keep operational overhead down.

What's the signature drink lineup beyond coffee?

Core offerings include Ube Leche, plus a matcha portfolio with Matcha Mami, Strawberry Matcha, and Banana Matcha. The menu is built on Filipino, Mexican, Asian, and Latin flavor profiles—culture-first positioning, not trend-chasing.