CoffeeDrunk has had many iterations since it opened its flagship 4th Street shop in the middle of the pandemic. You have Bixby Knolls. Cal Heights. Hell, even one in Phoenix. But when it comes to their newly minted Belmont Shore space—CoffeeDrunk took over the former Aroma di Roma location in the Shore last year—one can tell that things were approached differently than any other CoffeeDrunk.
After all, owners Matthew and Breezy Church wanted to open during Thanksgiving of last year. Instead, they took their time and money to bring in something different from their usual MO. A variety of seating, textures, feels, and vibes are throughout the Belmont Shore location. And that offers a CoffeeDrunk experience that feels more like a warm, welcoming social space than a caffeinated bit of controlled chaos that has defined the brand.
CoffeeDrunk owners Breezy [left] and Matthew Church [right]. Courtesy of business.
“This really wasn’t a business transaction more than it was a deeply personal endeavor with a space that had so much history directly connected to us and our love of coffee,” Matthew said. “Breezy’s history of working there. Our relation to Tim [Terrell, the owner of Aroma di Roma] and wanting him to have a healthy exit from the space. Us taking over the space where Breezy and I first met… The whole thing has a history that goes beyond a coffee business expanding.
“Do I want it to succeed? Financially stand on its own? Of course—but that wasn’t the number one motivator. The design intent was fundamentally different than any other store we’ve done. This is us looking forward, evolving with what people are now seeking from their local coffee shop.”
To understand their Belmont Shore location is to understand how CoffeeDrunk was born.
When CoffeeDrunk first rolled out, Long Beach’s coffee scene was in the midst of the pandemic. And Matthew and Breezy were designing for a world that no longer existed. Their original 4th Street location—opened when indoor gathering was largely impossible—was built around the bar and focused on the interactions at the counter. Today, with Belmont Shore, the couple is embracing a dramatically different philosophy: the contemporary coffee shop isn’t simply where people grab caffeine. Rather, in a return to the shops of the late ’90s and early aughts, it’s where they gather.
“When we opened 4th Street, we could only serve two people at a time,” Matthew said. “The lobby wasn’t open… It became a lot about the bar flow and the connection at the bar. People weren’t really hanging out in the space because it was COVID.”
As a result, every design decision revolved around the counter. Inspired by the intimacy of a cocktail bar, the low-profile coffee bar allowed guests to watch drinks being shaken and prepared in front of them while chatting directly with their barista. The experience centered on ordering, watching, and receiving the drink. And not lingering afterward.
“So much of our attention went to the bar,” Matthew said. “Your experience ordering, your experience having the drink made, and the handoff. Less attention went into your experience in the lobby or hanging out for two hours because nobody could.”
CoffeeDrunk’s Belmont Shore location reflects a broader shift in coffee culture: a return to socializing.
Even as CoffeeDrunk expanded to additional Long Beach locations during the pandemic, those early realities continued shaping its design philosophy. At the time, small-footprint, quick-service coffee shops were the industry’s prevailing trend. Matthew, Breezy, and their team intentionally split their concepts between convenience and community.
The Wardlow Road location in Cal Heights became exactly what pandemic-era customers seemed to want: a streamlined, grab-and-go café without tables or even a restroom, built for customers who simply wanted coffee before heading to work.
Just a mile away, their Atlantic Avenue shop in Bixby Knolls became its complement—a larger indoor-outdoor gathering place with garage doors that opened on sunny days, community pop-ups, and collaborations with local businesses ranging from Solis Bagels and La Parolaccia to Seaside Creamery.
“It was really meant as one piece together,” Matthew said of the two locations. “They served two different customer types.”
Then came Phoenix.
How CoffeeDrunk’s Phoenix location is connected to the ‘make it comfy’ approach it had with Belmont Shore.
Opening a much larger Arizona location exposed CoffeeDrunk to something the company had never truly experienced before: customers treating a café as a destination for much of their day. The space featured a mix of high-top tables, benches, bar seating, lounge areas, and even bleacher-style seating, allowing Church and his team to observe how people naturally occupied different environments.
“They were using it for get-togethers and book clubs,” Matthew said. “They were using the space differently than anything else that we had built before. We’re seeing this trend now away from the grab-and-go shops. Everybody wants the old-school, ’90s hangout shops.”
He points to CoffeeDrunk’s own Cal Heights location as evidence. While the shop has remained stable, it hasn’t experienced the growth seen at the company’s other cafés. It’s a sign, he believes, that customers increasingly value places where they can settle in rather than simply pick up a drink. Church also sees larger national coffee brands making similar adjustments, expanding or retrofitting smaller locations after years of emphasizing speed over atmosphere.
That understanding became the blueprint for Belmont Shore.
The multi-textural, comfort-centricity of CoffeeDrunk’s Belmont Shore location.
Located on bustling Second Street, the newest CoffeeDrunk isn’t simply another café—it’s an intentional response to what today’s customers are asking for. Before construction even began, Church said comments across social media repeatedly echoed the same desire: make it somewhere people actually want to stay.
“We hear the community,” Matthew said. “The community very much wants an old-school hangout.”
Instead of centering every design decision around the espresso bar, Belmont Shore gives equal weight to the experience beyond it. A couch anchors one corner while high-tops, two-top tables, bar seating, outdoor seating, and coffee tables create a variety of ways to use the space. Every seating area offers a different atmosphere, whether someone is working remotely, catching up with friends, reading a book, or simply watching the neighborhood pass by.
The shop is also CoffeeDrunk’s most texturally ambitious design to date. Wood, stone, metal, leather, multiple upholstery fabrics, and varied wall finishes intentionally create distinct environments throughout the café rather than a single aesthetic repeated across the room. A television allows the space to become a gathering place for major sporting events like the World Cup, while playful details—including the now-signature mirror proclaiming “Wake up, get coffee drunk. The rest is bullshit.”—still provide the social-media moments CoffeeDrunk has become known for.
“The intent behind it was to socialize,” Matthew said. “It became as much about the space itself as it was about the bar.”
For CoffeeDrunk, that represents perhaps its biggest evolution since opening its first shop on 4th Street. The pandemic forced cafés to become efficient, transactional spaces. Belmont Shore reflects a different era. One where coffee once again serves as the excuse to linger, connect, and build community. One drunken conversation at a time.
CoffeeDrunk’s new Belmont Shore shop is located at 4708 E. 2nd St.
