Downtown SLO Coffee on Higuera and Garden Street, Morning to Midnight

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Tree lined Higuera Street in the downtown historic district of San Luis Obispo

Photo: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kreuzberg California, at 685 Higuera Street, stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Buen Dia Coffee, at 570 Higuera Street, Suite 190, opens at 8 am every day. Scout Coffee's Garden Street room, at 1130 Garden Street, opens at 6:30 am. Between those three sets of hours, downtown San Luis Obispo has coffee available from before sunrise on a weekday to well past dinner on a weekend.

This page is about time as much as place. Downtown SLO is compact enough that most visitors walk it, and the real question on any given morning or evening is which door is open right now. So I have laid out the Higuera Street shops and the Garden Street shops by address, and then by the hours each one posts, with the Thursday night Farmers' Market folded in because it changes how Higuera works one night a week.

San Luis Obispo is a city of 48,039 people by the most recent American Community Survey five year estimate, and its downtown association, Downtown SLO, keeps a public list of the coffee houses and bakeries inside the district. Several shops on this page appear on that list, and the rest have been part of Hillcane's downtown SLO posts from the start.

Higuera Street, Block by Block

Higuera Street is the spine of downtown, and the coffee shops along it are easiest to understand in street number order. Joebella Coffee's San Luis Obispo location is at 311 Higuera Street. Buen Dia Coffee is at 570 Higuera Street, Suite 190, in the Creamery Marketplace. Kreuzberg California is at 685 Higuera Street. Corazón Cafe is at 847 Higuera Street.

Walking up the street, the numbers climb from the 300 block to the 800 block, which puts all four shops within an easy walk of one another. A visitor who starts at 311 and ends at 847 has covered the Higuera coffee map without ever getting back in the car.

The street is also where downtown's evening life happens, which is why the hours below matter. Some of these shops are morning and early afternoon counters, and one of them is built to run from breakfast into the night.

Joebella Coffee at 311 Higuera

Joebella Coffee's SLO location is at 311 Higuera Street. New Times reported its opening on December 1, 2024, in its December 26, 2024 issue, which makes it one of the newer shops downtown.

The room's own page offers order ahead with the line skip the line, and its menu lists a mocha, a latte, a Gibraltar, an espresso miel, a cappuccino, a chai latte, a matcha, an Americano and cold brew. Its tagline is because great coffee deserves great company, and it quotes a guest who called the coffee top notch and a must go.

At the low end of the Higuera numbers, 311 is the natural first stop for anyone coming into downtown from the south end of the street. For a visitor who wants to order ahead and walk in to pick up, the room makes that simple.

Buen Dia Coffee at 570 Higuera, Suite 190

Buen Dia Coffee is at 570 Higuera Street, Suite 190, inside the Creamery Marketplace. It posts hours every day of the week: 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Thursday, and 8 am to 5 pm Friday through Sunday. The Tribune covered its October 2024 opening on October 10, 2024, and New Times followed on November 21, 2024.

The Creamery is a shared building with several storefronts, so Suite 190 is the number that matters to a first time visitor. The extra hour on Friday, Saturday and Sunday makes Buen Dia a good late afternoon stop at the end of the week, when downtown is at its busiest.

Buen Dia describes the room as its coffee shop in downtown SLO, open every day. For a visitor who wants a reliable 8 am start seven days a week, 570 Higuera is an easy answer.

Kreuzberg California at 685 Higuera

Kreuzberg California is at 685 Higuera Street. Its posted hours are 8 am to 8 pm Monday through Wednesday, 8 am to 10 pm on Thursday, 8 am to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 8 am to 8 pm on Sunday.

Kreuzberg's own story explains why. It opened in downtown San Luis Obispo in 2010 as an experiment in combining the cafe scene of the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin with the easy, breezy pace of San Luis Obispo. The idea, in its own words, was a place for a cappuccino in the morning, a sando at lunch, and cocktails with friends at night. Its tagline is come be creative with us.

That makes 685 Higuera the answer to a question visitors ask more often than you might think: where can I still get a coffee downtown after dinner? On a Friday or Saturday, the answer runs until midnight.

Corazón Cafe at 847 Higuera

Corazón Cafe is at 847 Higuera Street, and it describes itself as celebrating Mexican culture in downtown San Luis Obispo. Its posted hours are 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Wednesday, and 7 am to 5 pm Thursday through Sunday.

The menu goes well beyond a coffee counter. Its popular items include tostadas, chile relleno, chilaquiles, pozole, wraps, lattes, chocolates mexicanos, pan dulce and champurrado. Its motto is hecho con amor, made with love, and Downtown SLO includes it on the district's coffee houses and bakeries list.

The Thursday through Sunday schedule opens earlier and runs later than the start of the week, which lines up with downtown's busiest days, including the Thursday night Farmers' Market a few blocks along the same street.

Garden Street, One Block Over

Garden Street runs a block from Higuera, and three shops sit close together near its corner with Marsh Street. Scout Coffee's Garden Street location is at 1130 Garden Street. Frankie's is at 1129 Garden Street, on the corner of Garden and Marsh. Linnaea's Cafe is at 1110 Garden Street.

Scout's Garden Street room posts hours of 6:30 am to 6:30 pm every day, every day of the week. Scout calls it its first cafe, in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, and describes brick, tall windows and a building that fills from the moment the doors open. Scout dates itself to 2014.

Frankie's posts hours of 9 am to 3 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. It calls itself a caffè rather than a coffee shop, and its menu runs to espresso, schiacciata, paper wrapped sandwiches with imported cured meats, shakeratos shaken until they foam, pastries, and wine in the afternoon. Its own line sums it up: SLO didn't need another coffee shop, it needed a caffè.

Linnaea's Cafe posts hours of 7:30 am to 5 pm on Monday and Tuesday, 7:30 am to 8 pm Wednesday through Friday, and 8 am to 8 pm on weekends. That gives Garden Street a room open into the evening five days a week.

Getting There on Foot and by Car

Scout's Garden Street page gives the most practical parking note for this part of downtown: parking is metered on the surrounding streets, and the garage off Marsh Street gives the first hour free. Bike parking, it adds, is a few steps from its front door.

Because Garden and Higuera are a block apart, one parking spot covers both streets. A visitor can park near Marsh and Garden, start at 1130 or 1129 Garden, and walk over to Higuera for a second stop at 685 or 847 without moving the car.

The Higuera numbers help with planning on foot. The 300 and 500 blocks sit toward one end of downtown, and the 600 and 800 blocks toward the other, so a walk from 311 to 847 passes every Higuera room on this page.

Thursday Nights on Higuera

Every Thursday from 6 pm to 9 pm, the Downtown SLO Farmers' Market takes over Higuera Street. Downtown SLO describes it as five blocks of more than 100 vendors, with fresh produce, barbecue, meals, crafts, baked goods and entertainment, and it says the market has been voted one of the best farmers' markets in the United States.

That changes how Higuera works one evening a week. The market boundaries close to traffic at 5 pm on Thursday, and Downtown SLO warns drivers to park outside the boundaries to avoid being towed or ticketed. A coffee plan for a Thursday evening should start from a parking spot a few blocks off Higuera, with the walk in as part of the evening.

For coffee on a market night, the posted hours line up well. Kreuzberg California at 685 Higuera runs until 10 pm on Thursdays, and Linnaea's Cafe at 1110 Garden Street runs until 8 pm, a block off the market.

A Day Downtown, Planned by the Clock

Put the posted hours side by side and a full downtown day falls into place. A 6:30 am start works at Scout on Garden Street, any day of the week. By 8 am, Buen Dia at 570 Higuera and Kreuzberg at 685 Higuera are both open, and on Thursday through Sunday Corazón Cafe at 847 Higuera has already been open an hour.

Midday is the easiest window of all. Every shop on this page that posts its hours is open between 9 am and 3 pm on a Tuesday through Sunday, including Frankie's at 1129 Garden Street, which keeps a 9 am to 3 pm schedule. That is the window for a visitor who wants to try several shops on foot in one outing.

Afternoons thin out by the hour. Frankie's finishes at 3 pm, Buen Dia at 4 pm on weekdays and 5 pm at the end of the week, Corazón at 3 pm early in the week and 5 pm later, and Scout at 6:30 pm. After that, the evening belongs to Linnaea's on Garden Street until 8 pm from Wednesday through Sunday, and to Kreuzberg on Higuera until 8 pm, 10 pm or midnight depending on the night.

Mondays deserve a note. Frankie's posts a Tuesday through Sunday week, so a Monday plan on Garden Street starts at Scout or Linnaea's instead, and Corazón's Monday hours run 9 am to 3 pm.

Downtown Hours at a Glance

Morning openings: Scout on Garden Street at 6:30 am every day, then Corazón Cafe at 7 am Thursday through Sunday, and Linnaea's at 7:30 am on weekdays. Buen Dia and Kreuzberg both open at 8 am every day.

Evening hours: Kreuzberg at midnight on Friday and Saturday and 10 pm on Thursday, then Linnaea's at 8 pm Wednesday through Sunday, and Kreuzberg again at 8 pm on the other nights. Scout closes at 6:30 pm, Buen Dia at 4 pm or 5 pm, Corazón at 3 pm or 5 pm, and Frankie's at 3 pm.

Just outside these two streets, Kaffein Coffee at 1242 Monterey Street, Suite 110, posts hours of 7 am to 3 pm daily, 364 days a year. Monterey Street, the Mill Street Historic District, South Higuera and the Cal Poly side each have their own Hillcane posts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which downtown SLO coffee shops are open in the evening?

Kreuzberg California at 685 Higuera Street is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, until 10 pm on Thursday, and until 8 pm on the other days. Linnaea's Cafe at 1110 Garden Street is open until 8 pm Wednesday through Sunday. Kreuzberg's own story describes a place for a cappuccino in the morning and cocktails with friends at night.

Which downtown SLO coffee shops open before 8 am?

Scout Coffee's Garden Street room at 1130 Garden Street posts hours of 6:30 am to 6:30 pm every day. Corazón Cafe at 847 Higuera opens at 7 am Thursday through Sunday, and Linnaea's Cafe at 1110 Garden Street opens at 7:30 am Monday through Friday and 8 am on weekends. Buen Dia and Kreuzberg both open at 8 am every day of the week.

What are Buen Dia Coffee's hours?

Buen Dia Coffee, at 570 Higuera Street, Suite 190 in the Creamery Marketplace, posts hours of 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Thursday and 8 am to 5 pm Friday through Sunday, so it is open every day of the week. The Tribune covered its October 2024 opening on October 10, 2024, and New Times followed on November 21, 2024.

Where is Joebella Coffee in downtown San Luis Obispo?

Joebella Coffee's SLO room is at 311 Higuera Street, at the low end of the downtown Higuera numbers. New Times reported its opening on December 1, 2024, in its December 26, 2024 issue. Its menu lists a mocha, latte, Gibraltar, espresso miel, cappuccino, chai latte, matcha, Americano and cold brew, with ordering ahead available so guests can skip the line.

What is on the Garden Street coffee block?

Three shops sit close together near Garden and Marsh. Scout Coffee is at 1130 Garden Street, open 6:30 am to 6:30 pm daily. Frankie's is at 1129 Garden Street, open 9 am to 3 pm Tuesday through Sunday. Linnaea's Cafe is at 1110 Garden Street, open until 8 pm Wednesday through Sunday and until 5 pm Monday and Tuesday.

What does Frankie's on Garden Street serve?

Frankie's, at 1129 Garden Street on the corner of Garden and Marsh, calls itself a caffè. Its menu runs to espresso, schiacciata, paper wrapped sandwiches with imported cured meats, shakeratos, pastries, and wine in the afternoon. It posts hours of 9 am to 3 pm, Tuesday through Sunday, and it sits across Garden Street from Scout Coffee at 1130.

What are Corazón Cafe's hours and menu?

Corazón Cafe, at 847 Higuera Street, posts hours of 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Wednesday and 7 am to 5 pm Thursday through Sunday. Its popular items include tostadas, chile relleno, chilaquiles, pozole, wraps, lattes, chocolates mexicanos, pan dulce and champurrado. It describes itself as celebrating Mexican culture in downtown San Luis Obispo.

Where should I park for downtown SLO coffee?

Scout's Garden Street page notes that parking is metered on the streets around 1130 Garden Street and that the garage off Marsh Street gives the first hour free, with bike parking a few steps from its door. Garden and Higuera are one block apart, so a single spot near Marsh Street covers both coffee streets on foot.

How does the Thursday Farmers' Market affect downtown coffee?

The Downtown SLO Farmers' Market runs every Thursday from 6 pm to 9 pm on Higuera Street, five blocks with more than 100 vendors. The market boundaries close at 5 pm, so drivers should park outside them. Kreuzberg California at 685 Higuera is open until 10 pm on Thursdays, and Linnaea's at 1110 Garden Street until 8 pm.

Does a downtown SLO coffee shop need a page for its hours and street?

It helps. Downtown shops on Higuera and Garden keep very different schedules, from a 6:30 am opening to a midnight close, and visitors plan around those hours block by block. A page stating the street, the suite number, the posted hours and the Thursday market plan answers that. Hillcane builds them at hillcane.co/contact or (256) 384-2449.

Work with Hillcane

Scout on Garden Street opens at 6:30 am. Kreuzberg on Higuera runs until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Downtown San Luis Obispo has coffee from before sunrise to after dinner, and the right door depends on the hour.

If your downtown SLO cafe wants a page that states its street, its suite and its hours clearly, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.