A fast-growing Chinese coffee chain is staking out space on the Third Street Promenade, planting itself directly across from Starbucks in a corridor where roughly three in ten storefronts sit empty.

Cotti Coffee has posted "Coming Soon" signage at 1353 Third Street Promenade and plans a second Santa Monica shop at 1447 Lincoln Blvd., according to Westside Current, which first reported the expansion on Wednesday, July 2. The Promenade location sits directly across from the existing Starbucks, according to Third Street Occupancy, the independent site that tracks retail activity along the pedestrian mall.

No opening date has been announced for either location. No city permit filings or planning approvals have surfaced publicly.

Who's behind it

Cotti Coffee was founded in October 2022 in Fuzhou, China, by Jenny Zhiya Qian and Charles Zhenyao Lu, both former Luckin Coffee executives who were terminated after Luckin's $300 million fabricated-sales scandal. The company claimed more than 18,000 stores across 33 countries as of early 2026, according to Daily Coffee News, which reviewed public records and franchise filings.

The chain made its U.S. debut in spring 2024 with a Honolulu store and has since expanded to California, New York, D.C., Illinois, and Tennessee. As of March 31, public records accounted for at least 29 U.S. locations, Daily Coffee News reported in a June 8 analysis. Existing Southern California shops include San Gabriel, Rowland Heights and Irvine.

Price and menu

Cotti's U.S. pricing runs roughly $3 for a plain Americano to about $7 for specialty drinks, with promotional lattes at $2.99, according to Daily Coffee News. That positions the chain below Starbucks on price. The menu features fruit-flavored Americanos such as an Orange Grapefruit Americano, oat lattes, matcha drinks, teas, light meals and branded merchandise, Westside Current reported.

Promenade context

The Promenade's vacancy rate stood at 30.5% as of June 27, according to ThirdStreetOccupancy.com. Big-name retailers including Old Navy, Gap, H&M and AMC have departed the corridor.

Santa Monica has committed $3 million in economic development funds to recruit businesses back downtown, and in May approved an entertainment zone allowing open alcoholic drinks between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway. Mayor Caroline Torosis told the Los Angeles Times the city needs to adapt: "We have to bring economic recovery back, and we weren't going to do that doing business as usual. We have to invite people back."

Hunter Hall of the Main Street Business Improvement Association told CBS News that as many as 17 new businesses plan to open in the downtown area in coming months, including a Taco Bell Cantina and a Raising Cane's.

What's next

Both Santa Monica Cotti locations remain in the signage phase with no confirmed opening timeline. The chain is also planning two San Francisco shops at 99 Drumm Street and 100 Bush Street. Starbucks, meanwhile, has been closing locations across California, including more than 20 in L.A. County, according to the New York Post.