The Front Porch, a coffee shop operated in connection with Men's Health Foundation, has opened at 8735 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood's Rainbow District. It occupies the former Coffee Bean space near Hancock Avenue, below a clinic the foundation recently opened upstairs, bringing coffee and healthcare services together in one building.
The café had a soft opening on Wednesday, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for next Monday, October 12, according to WeHo Times. Before the official debut, the shop offered free coffee to neighbors.
A Gathering Place, Not Just a Coffee Counter
Dr. Anthony Mills, who is associated with Men's Health Foundation, said he wanted the café to offer a place to meet beyond the nightlife scene: “a place that you would go to meet your friends and share a coffee,” according to the same report. The space is also intended to host community events.
General Manager Ashley Hastey spent nearly 15 hours a day at the café during the week leading up to the opening, the report notes. She described the shop as a front porch for Men's Health and West Hollywood, reflecting the foundation's aim for it to feel connected to the community.
Coffee, Cinnamon Rolls and a Breakfast Burrito
The current menu leans into specialty coffees alongside fresh-baked goods including chocolate cake, lemon-blueberry cake, scones, banana bread and chocolate chip cookies. Weekends bring fresh cinnamon rolls on Saturdays and Sundays, and the savory side of the menu currently covers salads, sandwiches and a breakfast burrito.
That lineup is a placeholder of sorts. The café plans more substantial food offerings once a kitchen renovation wraps, with an expanded menu expected to bring grilled salmon salads and other freshly prepared dishes. Hastey said the menu will continue to expand as the kitchen gets redone, according to the same report.
Why the Kitchen Still Needs Work
The holdup traces back to a previous operator, who installed a commercial hood incorrectly, leaving the kitchen unable to fully operate. That same operator also installed an oven costing roughly $15,000 that was never put into use because the city did not approve the hood installation, the outlet reports. The Front Porch has since submitted new kitchen plans and intends to rebuild the kitchen to support its expanded menu. Any new or remodeled retail food facility in the area must clear a plan-check process overseen by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which reviews construction, equipment installation and ventilation systems for compliance with state and local rules.
Coffee With a Side of Healthcare
The café is located below a clinic Men's Health Foundation recently opened upstairs. The arrangement means visitors can receive healthcare, pick up prescriptions and get coffee in the same building, according to the report. The café also fills a space left by the former Coffee Bean and what the report calls the Big Gay Starbucks, two spots that once anchored the strip before closing.
The Clinic's Health Focus
For healthcare context, Men's Health Foundation says its clinical services include men's and sexual health care, with services related to HIV, diabetes and behavioral health. The foundation says it welcomes patients seeking care across those and other health needs; this describes the foundation's clinical services, not a separate accounting of services at this specific location. See the foundation's primary care information.
For countywide context—not a neighborhood-level measure—the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's 2022 HIV surveillance report counted 53,599 adults and children living with diagnosed HIV in the county as of year-end 2022.
Men's Health Foundation is also developing a program that would match a portion of coffee purchases and direct those funds toward a charity selected for that month or quarter, though details on which organization might benefit have not been finalized. For now, The Front Porch is settling into its role as the Rainbow District's newest spot to linger over a cup of coffee, whether or not anyone's there for the clinic upstairs.
