Intelligentsia is putting its specialty coffee on wheels in Santa Monica, turning a compact A-frame on Pico Boulevard into the company’s first drive-thru coffeebar in the city. Instead of a traditional indoor café, the new spot will run on a drive-thru lane and a walk-up window, with a sizable outdoor patio handling the sit-down crowd. The concept is a test of a more convenience-focused model for the high-end roaster, and the opening date is still tied up with final renovations and city inspections.
What the Pico outpost will be
Intelligentsia's site pegs the new Santa Monica coffeebar at 3010 Pico Blvd and bills it as “an innovative drive-thru specialty coffee experience” inside a restored historic A-frame. The company is teasing interior photos and promising “beautiful, handmade drinks delivered right to your car window” along with a “sunny patio oasis” instead of indoor seating. The page also tags the Pico address as a coming-soon Los Angeles outpost and invites locals to sign up for updates.
Menu and the company's pitch
What Now Los Angeles reports that the menu will feature house favorites such as the Iced Angeleno, described as four shots of espresso shaken with milk and homemade vanilla syrup, along with the Avena Latte, a kids’ menu and even options for dogs. Lori Haughey, Intelligentsia’s vice president of retail, told What Now Los Angeles, “This is a super important location for us,” adding that the company expects to “learn a lot” from the drive-thru experiment and may “lean into the drive-thru concept” when it looks at future openings. The outlet also notes there is no firm opening timeline yet, with the debut hinging on those last renovations and inspections.
Permits and the building's history
Commercial listings indicate the A-frame property already has drive-thru entitlements. CityFeet describes 3010 Pico as a “rare standalone drive-thru building” that comes with permit-ready entitlements. The site previously housed a Wienerschnitzel, according to the Santa Monica Mirror, and that freestanding layout goes a long way toward explaining why it makes sense for a drive-thru trial. Listings suggest that those existing approvals could shorten the path to opening for any tenant that can move quickly on the buildout.
What’s next for Pico
Intelligentsia's locations page lists the Santa Monica drive-thru as the company’s fifth Los Angeles coffeebar, joining existing shops in Silver Lake, Venice, Hollywood, and Pasadena. For Pico Boulevard regulars, that means another specialty option on the corridor and a rare example of a third-wave roaster trying a drive-thru play inside city limits. The company and its brokers are expected to share more concrete opening details once permits are locked in and construction wraps up.
