An Uptown Design District Coffee Walk on North Palm Canyon

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

North Palm Canyon Drive at Tamarisk Road in uptown Palm Springs with a mission style tower

Photo: own picture Renhau (R. Haupt, Germany), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

North Palm Canyon Drive holds four coffee addresses between the 500 block and the 1500 block: 515, 750, 1101 and 1551. Each one sits inside the Uptown Design District, and each one comes with a building worth knowing about, a courtyard beside a park, a converted bank, a former tiki landmark from 1953 and a small hotel built around a pool. Walked in order, they make one of the simplest coffee routes in Southern California: one street, rising numbers, no turns.

This guide walks that route from south to north. At each stop it gives the street number, the hours the business posts on its own site, and the building or neighbor that makes the address easy to recognize. It does not rank the stops or compare them. A visitor can start anywhere, stop anywhere, and use the numbers to know how far up the street they have come.

Hillcane's other Palm Springs posts cover downtown Palm Springs on Tahquitz Canyon Way and Indian Canyon Drive, and the valley cities east of Palm Springs. This one stays on North Palm Canyon Drive.

Reading the Numbers on North Palm Canyon

North Palm Canyon Drive runs north out of downtown Palm Springs, and its addresses climb steadily as it goes. The four coffee stops on this walk sit at 515, 750, 1101 and 1551. That spread, roughly a thousand street numbers from the first stop to the last, is the whole route. There is no second street to learn and no corner to find.

The numbers also tell a walker where they are. A door in the 500s is at the southern edge of the Uptown Design District, close to downtown. The 700s put a walker in the middle of the district. The 1100s and 1500s are further north. Anyone who starts at 515 and sees 1101 on a storefront knows they have covered more than half of the walk.

One caution matters. Palm Canyon Drive also carries on east of Palm Springs as East Palm Canyon Drive, where five digit addresses belong to Cathedral City. Every stop on this walk has a three or four digit number and the word North, which is how a visitor knows the door is in Uptown Palm Springs.

515 N Palm Canyon Dr: Koffi North and Its Courtyard

The walk starts at Koffi Palm Springs North, 515 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262. Koffi's page for the room places it in the Uptown Design District, near Francis Stevens Park, and lists it as open daily from 6:30 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening. Its listed phone number is (760) 416 2244.

The room's page describes an expansive outdoor courtyard with a serene, park like setting and Mount San Jacinto as the backdrop, with abundant seating. For a walker at the start of a morning, that courtyard is a natural place to sit before heading north, and the nearby park makes the address easy to describe to anyone meeting there.

Koffi North is one of five Koffi cafes in the valley. The company's own about page dates its first cafe to 2002, and three of the five sit inside Palm Springs, with this one marking the southern end of the Uptown walk.

750 N Palm Canyon Dr: The Flannery Exchange

A little over two hundred street numbers north, 750 N Palm Canyon Dr is the Flannery Exchange. The building's own site describes it as a mixed use space in the heart of the Uptown Design District where desert guests and residents can work, play, shop, dine and celebrate. Its history page tells the story of the transformation of a 1981 Bank of America building into the space it is today.

The Exchange holds more than a cafe. It offers coworking space, offices, a conference room, event space and a rooftop deck for members, along with a set of shops under the heading Sip, Shop and Savor, including Bobo Palm Springs, Covet, Carmela Ice Cream, Bean Goods, Los Angeleaves, Illumine Gallery and A to Z Desert Mercantile. For a coffee walker, that means a stop here can easily become a browse.

The coffee door inside the Exchange is Cafe La Jefa, covered in the next stop. The building itself is worth noticing on the way in: a 1981 bank turned into a place people now go to work at a laptop, shop and eat.

750 N Palm Canyon Dr: Cafe La Jefa's Hours

Cafe La Jefa sits in the Flannery Exchange at 750 N Palm Canyon Drive. Its own homepage lists two sets of hours. The cafe is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, and Friday and Saturday from 7 in the morning to 8 in the evening. The kitchen runs every day from 7 to 3. Its site also notes that it was established in 2021.

The cafe describes itself as a Latin influenced modern coffee house and restaurant, featuring specialty coffee, tea and healthy organic food, with breakfast and lunch every day. It calls its patio a misted oasis and one of the best outdoor patios in Palm Springs, a prime spot to gather with friends or conduct business, and it describes itself as a favorite internet cafe in the city for anyone planning a productive workday.

Those two sets of hours are the detail a walker needs. A morning visitor can count on breakfast from the kitchen until 3, and on Friday and Saturday evenings the cafe itself stays open until 8, which suits a visitor who reaches the 700 block late in the day.

1101 N Palm Canyon Dr: Ernest Coffee and a 1953 Building

Further north, 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr is Ernest Coffee. Its own site lists the cafe as open every day from 6 in the morning to 1:30 in the afternoon, with a phone number of (760) 800 8452, and describes espresso, drip and morning pastries in Uptown Palm Springs, in a building with a story that starts in 1953.

That story is the building's. According to the cafe's own timeline, Don the Beachcomber, the tiki bar whose first room opened in Hollywood in 1933, came to 1101 N Palm Canyon Drive in 1953, and the torches went up on the roof. The site notes that seven decades later those torches are still standing over the espresso machine, and it marks the address Est. 1953, Palm Springs.

The counter itself, by the cafe's own menu, runs from espresso drinks and drip coffee to matcha, craft sodas, New York bagels and pastries fresh every morning, with a rotating seasonal list. Its homepage headline sums up the building's two lives: Come for the coffee. Stay for the cocktails.

Behind 1101: Bootlegger Tiki After 3

The second half of that headline lives behind the cafe. Bootlegger Tiki shares the 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr address and describes itself as tucked just behind Ernest Coffee. Its own site lists hours of 3 in the afternoon to 11 at night Sunday through Thursday, and 3 in the afternoon to 1 in the morning on Friday and Saturday.

Bootlegger's site says the original 1953 Don the Beachcomber tiki torches still burn above it, and it describes the bar as Palm Springs' original tiki home, born from the Don the Beachcomber legacy. Gift cards, the cafe says, work at both Ernest Coffee and Bootlegger Tiki.

For a walker, that gives 1101 a clear shape across the day: coffee from 6 to 1:30 at the front, a gap in the early afternoon, and the bar opening at 3 at the back. A visitor who reaches this address after lunch has arrived at the bar's hours rather than the cafe's.

1551 N Palm Canyon Dr: A Coffee Room in the ARRIVE Hotel

The walk ends at 1551 N Palm Canyon Dr, the ARRIVE Palm Springs hotel. The hotel's own page describes it as an adults only, 32 room boutique hotel in the heart of the Uptown Design District, centered on a 42 foot pool and hot tub, with a poolside restaurant and bar, private cabanas, firepits, ping pong and bocce ball.

The same page invites guests to sip a coffee from Cartel Coffee Lab, and Cartel Roasting Co. lists the ARRIVE Palm Springs location at 1551 N Palm Canyon Dr on its own locations page. When that page was checked on September 15, 2026, it listed that location as open daily from 7 in the morning to 6 in the evening. The hotel also lists an ice cream shop on site.

A hotel coffee bar serves two crowds at once, guests coming down from their rooms and walkers on North Palm Canyon Drive. For a visitor finishing the route here, it is the northern bookend of the walk, a little over a thousand street numbers from where it began. The hotel's page also points guests to a curated Field Guide of local favorites, so the last stop on the coffee walk can hand a visitor on to the rest of the city.

Planning the Walk Around Posted Hours

Because each stop posts its own hours, the easiest way to plan is stop by stop. At 515, Koffi North lists 6:30 to 5:30 daily. At 750, Cafe La Jefa lists cafe hours of 7 to 4 Sunday through Thursday and 7 to 8 on Friday and Saturday, with the kitchen running 7 to 3 every day. At 1101, Ernest Coffee lists 6 to 1:30 daily, and Bootlegger Tiki opens behind it at 3. At 1551, Cartel's locations page listed 7 to 6 daily when checked in mid September.

Read in order, those hours suggest a morning walk. Starting at 515 after 6:30 and moving north puts a walker at 1101 well before its 1:30 close and at 1551 while its room is open. Walkers who start later in the day can work the route in reverse, or skip ahead to the bar hours at 1101 after 3.

Hours change, so the practical habit is to check each door's own page on the day. The numbers here are the ones posted as of late September 2026, and they are the details most likely to shift with the season, a holiday or a private event.

Why One Street Makes a Good Coffee Walk

Most coffee walks in larger cities involve side streets, transfers and a map. This one does not. Four addresses on one street, with numbers that rise in one direction, make North Palm Canyon Drive easy to explain and easy to follow. A visitor can say they are going from 515 to 1551 and every person on the street will know the direction.

The buildings do the rest. A courtyard near Francis Stevens Park, a converted 1981 bank, a 1953 tiki landmark and a 32 room hotel each give a walker something to recognize before they read a number. That is the same thing a good cafe page does for a searcher: it names the street, the number and the landmark, so the right door is obvious before anyone leaves home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What coffee addresses are on North Palm Canyon Drive in Uptown Palm Springs?

Four coffee doors sit on North Palm Canyon Drive in the Uptown Design District: Koffi North at 515 N Palm Canyon Dr, Cafe La Jefa in the Flannery Exchange at 750 N Palm Canyon Dr, Ernest Coffee at 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, and a Cartel coffee room in the ARRIVE hotel at 1551 N Palm Canyon Dr. The numbers rise from south to north.

What are Koffi North's hours?

Koffi Palm Springs North, at 515 N Palm Canyon Dr near Francis Stevens Park, is listed on Koffi's own page as open daily from 6:30 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening. The page describes an expansive outdoor courtyard with a park like setting and Mount San Jacinto as a backdrop. Its listed phone number is (760) 416 2244.

What is the Flannery Exchange?

The Flannery Exchange is a mixed use building at 750 N Palm Canyon Dr in the Uptown Design District. Its own site describes the transformation of a 1981 Bank of America building into a space for work, shopping, dining and events, with coworking, offices, a rooftop deck for members and shops such as Carmela Ice Cream and Illumine Gallery. Cafe La Jefa is inside.

What are Cafe La Jefa's hours?

Cafe La Jefa, in the Flannery Exchange at 750 N Palm Canyon Drive, lists cafe hours of 7 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon Sunday through Thursday, and 7 in the morning to 8 in the evening on Friday and Saturday. Its kitchen runs every day from 7 to 3. The cafe's site notes it was established in 2021.

What are Ernest Coffee's hours?

Ernest Coffee, at 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, lists itself as open every day from 6 in the morning to 1:30 in the afternoon, with a phone number of (760) 800 8452. Its counter covers espresso drinks, drip coffee, matcha, craft sodas, New York bagels and pastries fresh every morning, plus a rotating seasonal list of drinks.

What is the history of the Ernest Coffee building?

According to the cafe's own timeline, Don the Beachcomber, the tiki bar that first opened in Hollywood in 1933, came to 1101 N Palm Canyon Drive in 1953, and tiki torches went up on the roof. The site says those torches still stand over the espresso machine seven decades later, and it marks the address Est. 1953, Palm Springs.

When does Bootlegger Tiki open?

Bootlegger Tiki, tucked just behind Ernest Coffee at 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, lists hours of 3 in the afternoon to 11 at night Sunday through Thursday, and 3 in the afternoon to 1 in the morning on Friday and Saturday. Ernest's homepage headline, Come for the coffee. Stay for the cocktails, points to the bar out back.

Where is the coffee room at the ARRIVE hotel?

The ARRIVE Palm Springs hotel is at 1551 N Palm Canyon Dr, and its own page invites guests to sip a coffee from Cartel Coffee Lab. Cartel Roasting Co. lists the room on its locations page, which on September 15, 2026 showed daily hours of 7 in the morning to 6 in the evening. The hotel describes itself as an adults only, 32 room boutique hotel.

How far apart are the Uptown coffee stops?

By street number, the walk runs from 515 to 1551 N Palm Canyon Dr, a span of just over a thousand numbers on one street with no turns. Cafe La Jefa's building at 750 sits between the southern stop and Ernest Coffee at 1101. Reading storefront numbers along the way is the simplest way to track progress up the Uptown Design District.

How should a visitor plan an Uptown coffee walk?

Start at 515 N Palm Canyon Dr after 6:30 in the morning and walk north. Cafe La Jefa's kitchen at 750 runs 7 to 3 daily, Ernest Coffee at 1101 lists 6 to 1:30, and the ARRIVE hotel's coffee room at 1551 showed 7 to 6 in mid September 2026. Check each business's own page on the day, since posted hours can change.

Work with Hillcane

One street, four coffee doors, and a thousand street numbers from a courtyard near Francis Stevens Park to a 32 room hotel built around a pool.

If you run a coffee shop in Uptown Palm Springs and want your street number, hours and building story told plainly on a page of your own, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.