% Arabica – LA

There aren’t many brands that could accurately be described as “slumming it” at Los Angeles’s famous shopping center The Grove, but % Arabica (pronounced ah-rah-bi-ca) is perhaps the best example we’ve seen: This growing Kyoto-based coffee chain has opened bespoke Apple Store-caliber coffee shops at over 200 locations across the world – except in LA, where it operates a kiosk that we mightn’t have noticed if not for its “%” logos and conspicuous custom coffee hardware.

Our first photos show a fairly basic Arabica store at Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza. Streamlined to serve customers who are likely on the move, this futuristic science lab-like space offers the chain’s standard stripped-down drink menu – a handful of hot and cold coffee options, plus Kyoto-farmed matcha teas – several locally sourced pastries, and 10 different types of coffee beans that can be roasted on site to match an individual’s tastes and home brewing equipment. Seating here is minimal by design, and doesn’t encourage Starbucks-style milling around: The focus is squarely on delivering excellent drinks, fairly quickly. Some other % Arabica locations, however, are built specifically at noteworthy sites where guests are encouraged to sit and sip, including an Indonesian beach and a South Korean library.

The Los Angeles kiosk sits next to a Nike store and within short walking distance of Apple, sharing outdoor seating with a Wetzel’s Pretzels and pop-up shops. This is odd for a brand as meticulous and design-conscious as % Arabica; we can only guess that it knew where it wanted to be, but was just waiting for the right space to open up before beginning what could be an extensive design and construction process. Many spots at The Grove could work for this brand, but figuring out the right size and offerings given local foot traffic might initially have seemed tricky.