SLO South Coffee on South Higuera, Tank Farm and Laurel Lane

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Laguna Lake with Bishop Peak and neighboring volcanic hills on the edge of San Luis Obispo

Photo: Basar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Coastal Peaks Coffee is at 3566 South Higuera Street, Suite 100. Twenty South is at 3845 South Higuera Street, Suite 114, inside the SLO Public Market at the corner of Tank Farm Road. Nautical Bean's South Higuera room is at 3971 South Higuera Street, next to Trader Joe's. Seven Sisters Coffee is at 1279 Laurel Lane. That is the coffee map of the south side of San Luis Obispo, and none of it sits on the downtown blocks most visitors picture when they hear the city's name.

I wanted this part of town on its own page because South Higuera is easy to misread. It carries the same street name as the downtown spine, and a visitor who types Higuera into a map without the word South can land a long way from where they meant to go. The street numbers tell the story: downtown Higuera shops sit in the 300 to 700 range, and the shops on this page sit between 3566 and 3971.

San Luis Obispo is a city of 48,039 people by the most recent American Community Survey five year estimate, and the south side is where a lot of its daily errands happen. What follows is the corridor shop by shop, the Public Market in some detail, Laurel Lane on the east side, and a few plain notes on reading the addresses so a first visit goes smoothly.

South Higuera Is Not Downtown Higuera

Downtown San Luis Obispo runs along Higuera Street near the Mission, with coffee shops at 311, 570 and 685 Higuera. Keep following the street south and it becomes South Higuera Street, a longer commercial corridor with shopping centers, offices and newer development along it. Visit SLO, the city's tourism group, files the 3566 South Higuera address under a neighborhood it calls SLO South.

The name overlap is the whole reason this page exists. Two addresses can both read Higuera and still sit miles apart, and a map app will happily send a driver to the wrong one if the word South goes missing. On the south side, the full address, including the suite number, is the only thing that reliably gets a visitor to the right door.

It also changes what a coffee stop looks like. Downtown, a visitor parks once and walks between several cafes. On South Higuera, most people arrive by car, stop for one shop that fits the errand they are already running, and move on. That makes the exact address, the posted hours and the cross street far more useful than a general sense of the neighborhood.

Coastal Peaks Coffee at 3566 South Higuera

Coastal Peaks Coffee sits at 3566 South Higuera Street, Suite 100, and it is the first of the coffee shops a driver reaches heading south from downtown along this stretch. Visit SLO lists it in its coffee shops category and places it in SLO South, the same neighborhood label the tourism group uses for this part of the corridor.

The suite number matters here the same way it does in the shared buildings downtown. A visitor looking for 3566 is looking for a specific storefront, and Suite 100 is the detail that turns a street address into a door. For anyone plotting a route, 3566 is also the lowest number on this page, so it is the natural first stop for someone coming down from the downtown end of the street.

For someone who lives in SLO South, Coastal Peaks is simply the neighborhood coffee room, a place on a street they already drive every day. That is the kind of stop this corridor is built around: close to home, close to work, and easy to fold into a morning that is headed somewhere else.

Twenty South Inside the SLO Public Market

Twenty South is at 3845 South Higuera Street, Suite 114, inside the SLO Public Market. Its coffee page lists its hours as Wednesday through Sunday, 8 am to 2 pm, so a Monday or Tuesday visitor should plan on another room. The Tribune dated its opening to November 2024 in an article published January 4, 2025.

The drink list on that coffee page covers the full espresso bar: drip coffee, espresso, cortado, cappuccino, latte, mocha, hot chocolate, chai latte and matcha latte, plus flavored lattes such as orange cardamom and vanilla made with house syrups. The page says every cup begins with intention and a focus on balance, and it frames the drinks as ranging from rich lattes to bright, experimental cups.

Twenty South pairs that coffee with brunch and cocktails, which makes it a different kind of stop from a grab and go counter. The window is late morning friendly: open at 8, done at 2, five days a week. For a weekend brunch plan on the south side of the city, that schedule is the one to build around.

The Public Market Itself

The SLO Public Market is its own destination, and it helps to know what surrounds a coffee room inside it. The market's own pages give its address as 3845 South Higuera Street and place it at the corner of Tank Farm Road and South Higuera, about five minutes from the San Luis Obispo airport by the market's own description.

The market sits on 4.18 acres, with 48,242 square feet given to the Market Hall and the shops around it, across eight buildings. It was built around the old Bonetti Ranch, founded in 1880, and it keeps the ranch's restored farmhouse, barn, water tower and granary buildings as part of the property. The market describes its aim as creating a gathering place where people can sample and enjoy the best of the Central Coast.

The vendor mix is broad. Alongside coffee, the market's directory covers tea, Mexican food, baked goods, Thai food, hot chicken, juice, bao, a brewery, a general store, a salon, a fitness studio, a ballroom dance studio and a chiropractor. That range is why a coffee room here serves a different crowd than a downtown counter: people come for a class, an appointment, lunch or a pint, and coffee is part of the visit rather than the whole reason for it.

Because so many businesses share one address, Suite 114 is the number a first time visitor needs for Twenty South. The market lists individual hours for each vendor, so a visitor planning around a specific stop should check that stop's own hours rather than assuming the whole market keeps one schedule.

Nautical Bean Near Trader Joe's

Nautical Bean's South Higuera room is at 3971 South Higuera Street, next to Trader Joe's. Its posted hours run 6 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday and 7 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday, which makes it the earliest opening room on this page on weekdays.

The menu lists breakfast items served all day at this room. The house drinks include a Caramel Sutra made with caramel sauce and vanilla syrup, a mocha, a white mocha, a black and white mocha, a chocolate butterscotch latte, and a spiced chai latte with espresso called Shot in the Dark. The food side runs to a breakfast burrito, a larger Kitchen Sink burrito, bagel sandwiches the menu calls Eggels, a croissant sandwich and a yogurt and acai bowl.

Nautical Bean calls itself the Central Coast's favorite neighborhood coffee shop, and it runs other locations on Los Osos Valley Road and Parker Street in San Luis Obispo, in Baywood in Los Osos, and in Morro Bay. The 3971 address is its South Higuera answer, and a visitor already stopping at Trader Joe's has a coffee shop steps away.

Laurel Lane, on the East Side

Seven Sisters Coffee is at 1279 Laurel Lane, on the east side of San Luis Obispo. Laurel Lane is not part of the South Higuera corridor, and it is worth treating as its own neighborhood rather than folding it into the south side map.

A resident near Laurel Lane is not thinking about Tank Farm Road or the Public Market when they want a morning cup. They are thinking about their own street, and 1279 Laurel Lane is the answer on it. That is the same logic that runs through this whole page: coffee in San Luis Obispo is organized by street, and each street has its own regulars.

For a visitor, Laurel Lane is a good reminder that the city's coffee does not fall neatly into a downtown group and a south side group. There are cafes on the Cal Poly side, cafes downtown, cafes along South Higuera and a cafe on Laurel Lane, and each one serves the people closest to it.

Reading the Addresses in Order

On South Higuera, the numbers climb as you head south. Coastal Peaks at 3566 comes first, then the Public Market at 3845 with Twenty South in Suite 114, then Nautical Bean at 3971 near Trader Joe's. A driver working down the corridor from downtown meets them in that order, and a driver coming up from Tank Farm Road meets them in reverse.

That order is useful for planning. Someone with an early start can count on Nautical Bean opening at 6 am on weekdays. Someone who wants brunch with coffee should aim for Twenty South between 8 am and 2 pm, Wednesday through Sunday. Someone who lives or works in SLO South has Coastal Peaks on the street they already use.

The same care applies to the word South. A search for coffee on Higuera Street can return downtown cafes first, and a search for South Higuera can return cafes well away from downtown. Typing the full number and the word South together is the simplest way to avoid a wrong turn.

For a traveler, the corridor has one more practical use. The Public Market describes itself as about five minutes from the San Luis Obispo airport, so a coffee stop at 3845 South Higuera can fit around an arrival or a departure without a trip through downtown traffic first.

Beyond the South Side

Kreuzberg California keeps a second room at 3183 Duncan Road, Suite A, which its own page calls Duncan Alley. It posts hours of 8 am to 4 pm every day at that room, separate from the later evening hours at its downtown room on Higuera Street.

For readers heading out of the city rather than across it, the nearest Dutch Bros stands are in other towns in the county, including Arroyo Grande at 1259 East Grand Avenue. None of the chain's stands sit inside San Luis Obispo city limits, which is part of why the south side coffee map is made up of local shops.

The rest of the city's coffee has its own Hillcane posts. Downtown Higuera and Garden Street, Monterey Street and the Mill Street Historic District, and the Cal Poly side along Foothill Boulevard each get their own treatment, so this page can stay focused on South Higuera, Tank Farm Road and Laurel Lane.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Twenty South in San Luis Obispo?

Twenty South is at 3845 South Higuera Street, Suite 114, inside the SLO Public Market at the corner of Tank Farm Road and South Higuera. Its coffee page lists hours of 8 am to 2 pm, Wednesday through Sunday. The Tribune dated its opening to November 2024 in an article published January 4, 2025, and it pairs coffee with brunch and cocktails.

Where is Coastal Peaks Coffee?

Coastal Peaks Coffee is at 3566 South Higuera Street, Suite 100, in the part of San Luis Obispo that Visit SLO calls SLO South. It is the lowest street number of the coffee shops on the South Higuera corridor, so a driver heading south from downtown reaches it before the SLO Public Market at 3845 and the shop near Trader Joe's at 3971.

Where is the SLO Public Market?

The SLO Public Market is at 3845 South Higuera Street, at the corner of Tank Farm Road and South Higuera, which the market describes as about five minutes from the county airport. It covers 4.18 acres with 48,242 square feet for the Market Hall and surrounding shops across eight buildings, built around the Bonetti Ranch, founded in 1880.

What coffee drinks does Twenty South serve?

Twenty South's coffee page lists drip coffee, espresso, cortado, cappuccino, latte, mocha, hot chocolate, chai latte and matcha latte, along with flavored lattes such as orange cardamom and vanilla made with house syrups. It is open Wednesday through Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm at 3845 South Higuera Street, Suite 114, and it also serves brunch and cocktails.

Where is Nautical Bean on South Higuera?

Nautical Bean's South Higuera location is at 3971 South Higuera Street, next to Trader Joe's. It posts hours of 6 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday and 7 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday, and it serves breakfast items all day. Nautical Bean also runs locations on Los Osos Valley Road and Parker Street in San Luis Obispo.

Which south side coffee room opens earliest?

On weekdays, Nautical Bean at 3971 South Higuera Street opens at 6 am, according to its posted hours, and on weekends it opens at 7 am. Twenty South inside the SLO Public Market opens at 8 am, Wednesday through Sunday. Kreuzberg California's Duncan Road room posts an 8 am opening every day of the week.

Where is Seven Sisters Coffee?

Seven Sisters Coffee is at 1279 Laurel Lane on the east side of San Luis Obispo. Laurel Lane is a separate neighborhood from the South Higuera corridor and from the downtown blocks on Higuera and Garden Street, so a visitor should route to the Laurel Lane address directly rather than expecting to find it near the Public Market or Tank Farm Road.

Is South Higuera Street the same as downtown Higuera Street?

No. Downtown Higuera Street runs near the Mission, with coffee shops at 311, 570 and 685 Higuera. South Higuera Street continues well south of downtown, with coffee shops at 3566, 3845 and 3971. Typing the word South and the full street number together keeps a map app from sending a driver to the wrong end of the city.

What else is at the SLO Public Market besides coffee?

The market's directory lists tea, Mexican food, baked goods, Thai food, hot chicken, juice, bao, a brewery, a general store, a salon, a fitness studio, a ballroom dance studio and a chiropractor. The property keeps the restored Bonetti Ranch farmhouse, barn, water tower and granary buildings, and individual vendors post their own hours rather than sharing one market schedule.

Does a coffee shop on South Higuera need its own street page?

It helps. South Higuera shares a name with downtown Higuera, and the shops at 3566, 3845 and 3971 sit far from the 300 to 700 block downtown. A page that states the full South Higuera address, the suite number, the cross street and the posted hours gives drivers what they need. Hillcane builds those pages at hillcane.co/contact or (256) 384-2449.

Work with Hillcane

Twenty South is in Suite 114 of the SLO Public Market at Tank Farm Road. Nautical Bean is at 3971 South Higuera, next to Trader Joe's. The south side of San Luis Obispo has its own coffee map, and every stop on it starts with the word South.

If your coffee shop on South Higuera, Tank Farm Road or Laurel Lane needs a page that states its full address and hours, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.