A coffee shop built on a love of horror movies and a grieving granddaughter's memories has planted its second location in Downtown Long Beach. Coffinated Coffee opened its doors on First Street this past Saturday, bringing a menu of drinks inspired by slasher films, video games and cult classics to the Arts District.
Owner Sabrina Arellano started the business as a way to process loss. According to Long Beach Post, Arellano's grandmother died at home in 2021 after having cancer, and the shop became, in Arellano's words, “kind of like my grieving project.” The two shared a bond over horror and all things spooky, something Arellano said she picked up directly from her grandmother.
Per the same report, Arellano's grandmother was born in East Los Angeles, spent time in an orphanage in Michoacán, Mexico, and returned to the United States around age 16 or 17, later working at a glass factory. Arellano has said she and her grandmother used to go to haunted houses together, a tradition that helped shape the shop's identity. Arellano named Kevin Smith's Tusk as her favorite horror movie.
A Menu Built on Fandom and Community Input
Coffinated Coffee first opened in La Puente in October 2022, and the account notes the shop's Instagram following grew by 41,000 followers in the time since. For the new Long Beach menu, Arellano said she leaned on her team and customers alike. “I like to brainstorm with the team,” she said, and the shop's new offerings were ultimately shaped by community votes, the outlet reports.
That process prioritizes matching a drink's flavor, appearance and name to whatever film, game or book inspired it, the article notes. Arellano's own favorite on the menu is the No-Clipping, a chocolate Milano mocha topped with banana cinnamon cream that has also become a top seller at the La Puente location. Another standout is the Las Plagas, a Spanish latte finished with brown sugar cold foam and named for Resident Evil's parasitic antagonists.
A Welcoming Space in the Arts District
Beyond the drinks, Arellano said she wants the shop to function as a gathering spot, stocked with board games for customers who linger. “I just want this to be a safe space for everybody,” she said, according to the same account. The new location sits at 443 East First Street in the Long Beach Arts District.
Hours for the new shop carry some discrepancy depending on the source. The Long Beach Post reports Coffinated Coffee is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. and closed Mondays, while a snippet from the shop's Instagram account lists Tuesday through Saturday hours of noon to 8 p.m. with Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., also closed Mondays.
Not the First Horror-Themed Pour in the Region
Coffinated Coffee isn't the only Southern California coffee shop leaning into genre fandom. Rad Coffee, described as a punk-rock-themed and horror-inspired chain dating back to 2015, planned a Bixby Knolls location in 2022 as its third Southern California shop, according to a separate Long Beach Post report. That location was designed to include a gaming area dubbed the “horrorcade,” featuring horror-themed pinball machines.
The Bixby Knolls shop was projected to open in May 2022 at the former site of Derricks on Atlantic, according to the Signal Tribune. Rad Coffee co-founder Jade Valore attributed the brand's following, which the outlet put at 115,000 Instagram followers, to its mash-up of skate, punk and horror culture — a reminder that niche theming has found real traction with coffee drinkers across the region.
For Arellano, though, the appeal of Coffinated Coffee traces back to something more personal than a theme. The shop's growth from a single La Puente storefront to a second home in Downtown Long Beach stands as an extension of the bond she shared with her grandmother over decades of horror movies and haunted houses.
