A group of accountants who moonlighted as dreamers officially opened Dragon Alley Coffee on Tuesday at 312 Santa Monica Blvd., the latest business to debut along the Third Street Promenade as the city's downtown commercial corridor continues its slow-rolling revival.
The roughly 1,000-square-foot specialty café held a public ribbon-cutting June 17, drawing city officials and neighbors to celebrate a shop founded by Santa Monica residents Richard and Sage Chand alongside partners Victor Garcia, Jostin Moller and Fernando Garcia — all of whom work together as accountants and spent six months transforming the concept from a shared ambition into an operating business.
"Six months ago we started as a small accounting team," Moller said at the ceremony. "Six months later, here we are."
The café serves espresso drinks, imported Japanese matcha and a house blend described as having a smoky finish. Dragon Alley has drawn early attention for its lidless, strawless cups and a menu that includes a banana loaf latte — a drink Debbie Lee, CEO of Downtown Santa Monica Inc., said she sampled the day before the opening.
"I have to tell you, it's one of the best coffees I've had in a very long time," Lee said.
The shop takes its name and identity from dragon symbolism, which the founders describe as representing strength, courage and perseverance. Richard Chand said the café was designed around a simple idea — giving people a place to slow down.
"We wanted to create a place where people could enjoy a great cup of coffee, have a meaningful conversation, and leave feeling better than when they walked in," Chand said. "We are all dragons. We face challenges, carry burdens, fight battles that others might never see. But our ability to rise above those challenges — that is the spirit of Dragon Alley."
Santa Monica City Councilmember Dan Hall, a downtown resident who said he walks the Promenade twice a day, attended the opening and framed the café as part of a broader commercial comeback. He said businesses like Dragon Alley are providing jobs and places for locals to gather.
Hall also cited the city's investment in the area. "We've invested over $60 million in cleaning up our downtown," he said, "and we're very grateful that y'all are part of that story."
Dragon Alley's opening is the latest in a string of new businesses to arrive in Santa Monica over the past several weeks, a stretch that has brought a mix of local independents and national chains to the Promenade and surrounding corridors.
Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers opened its first Westside location adjacent to Dragon Alley last week. A day before Raising Cane's opened, The Win~Dow debuted at 930 Montana Ave. in the former Go Get Em Tiger space. Earlier openings include Pop's Bagels, which arrived at 912 Montana Ave., and the Circle Bar, the century-old Main Street dive that reopened after nearly three years dark.
The Promenade is also home to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria — billed as the first official TMNT-themed restaurant — which will hold its formal grand opening June 20 at 1444 Third Street Promenade, and a FIFA World Cup 2026 pop-up shop at 1427 Third Street Promenade that opened earlier this month.
The activity follows the City Council's unanimous approval in March of an eight-point economic development package that included a $3 million Economic Development Fund targeting restaurant-attraction incentives and tenant-improvement assistance focused on the Promenade. The council also made permanent in August 2025 the suspension of formula-retail restrictions first enacted in 2018, clearing the path for national tenants alongside the local independents — like four accountants with a dream — now filling the storefronts.