New Japanese-inspired coffee shop opens in familiar SLO County spot. Look inside
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Yokoso Coffee opened in Los Osos, offering espresso, teas and baked goods.
- Shop provides vocational role for owner's daughter and fosters community space.
- Menu features organic pastries from Rise and Shine Bakehouse and specialty drinks.
A new Japanese-inspired coffee shop is serving up espresso drinks, loose leaf teas and fresh baked goods in San Luis Obispo County.
Yokoso Coffee, 1230 Los Osos Valley Road in Los Osos, first welcomed the public during a soft opening on April 11.
The space was formerly home to Ascendo Coffee, which closed at the end of 2024.
Over the past two months, husband-and-wife co-owners Michael and Christine Williams have transformed the cafe into a sunlit-filled shop, where origami butterflies sprinkle the walls and peaceful music plays in the background.
“I always wanted it to be a place that people would walk in and not feel like, ‘Oh, okay, I’ve been in something like this before,’ ” Michael Williams said.
Williams said customers once loyal to Ascendo have flocked to the new shop to try out its thoughtful selection of coffee drinks and pastries.
“We’re really thankful for the feedback we get, not only our drinks, but on the baked goods,” he said. “We’re just very happy that people are enjoying it, because that’s why we’re doing it.”
How a new coffee shop opened in Los Osos
Michael Williams worked as a mail carrier for 25 years in SLO County before retiring. He decided to try a second career as a business owner to help his daughter find a job of her own.
The Williams’ only daughter, Alanna, was in a serious drowning incident as a child 20 years ago, Michael told The Tribune.
“It’s a miracle that she’s survived,” he said.
The accident left her with a brain injury, he said.
Michael William said he was inspired to open Yokoso Coffee after reading an article about an East Coast cafe providing vocational opportunities to people with mental disabilities.
He wondered if he could give his daughter a similar chance at a career.
Over the years, the father-daughter duo volunteered at a few coffee bars at local churches as Michael developed a vision for his own cafe. He looked at locations, but nothing panned out.
“We had shelved the whole business plan, and no sooner than that, Ascendo became available,” he said. “It was sad that they closed, but it’s kind of the best if you want to open a coffee shop.”
The Williams signed a lease for the space on Los Osos Valley Road at the end of 2024.
Alanna Williams’ role at the coffee shop is to greet guests with “her glowing smile,” her mother said.
Although she doesn’t take orders, she delivers drinks and pastries, and buses tables.
Japanese-themed restaurant offers a ‘third space’ for visitors
About six weeks after opening, Yokoso Coffee has become a meeting point for local book clubs, bike groups and Bible study meet-ups, according to cafe manager David Mitchell.
It’s also a place where parents can bring their kids to relax and play, he said.
“Los Osos in particular really wants to have a third space, and there aren’t really very many third spaces outside of maybe some of the bars,” Mitchell said.
The Williams named their restaurant Yokoso, which means “Welcome. We’re glad you’re here” in Japanese, Michael said.
Michael said he wanted to find a Japanese word that was easy enough for English speakers to pronounce that also contains significant meaning.
East Asian touches are scattered throughout the coffee shop as a nod to Christine Williams’ Japanese-American heritage, she and her husband said.
Childhood photos of Williams and her brother dressed in kimonos hang on the walls, as well as Japanese art, paper umbrellas and origami.
“I wanted it to be kawaii — you know, really cute,” she said.
What drinks are served at new SLO County cafe?
Yokoso Coffee offers classic coffee and espresso drinks, loose leaf teas and matcha.
The cafe sources its beans from Morii, a brick-and-mortar coffee roaster in Harmony.
Mitchell said the coffee is fair trade and organic while remaining approachable for all caffeine-drinkers.
“Any of the espresso drinks are going to be phenomenal,” he said.
Mitchell recommended that visitors also try Yokoso Coffee’s ceremonial-grade matcha or the house-made chai latte, calling the latter “super well-balanced between sweet and savory.”
The new coffee shop goes beyond just producing tasty beverages, Christine Williams said. It serves drinks and food in artisan-made ceramic pastry plates, coffee mugs and espresso cups.
What else is on the menu?
Yokoso Coffee’s menu also features an array of baked goods from Rise and Shine Bakehouse in Los Osos.
The cottage bakery is led by owner and head baker Brittany Armstrong. She rents the coffee shop’s kitchen and sells her pastries at the front of the cafe.
“It’s nice to have a space where I can see people eat my baked goods,” she said. “It makes me happy.”
Armstrong specializes in sourdough bread and also makes quiches, galettes, cinnamon rolls, muffins and scones.
Since the shop opened, she’s served up a slew of pastries, including a Japanese strawberry cream cheese roll, a lavender-and-Earl Gray tea cake and a matcha green tea pound cake, plus organic dog treats.
“I really love to actually sit in fellowship and break bread with people, and just have a great conversation with people over a pastry,” Armstrong said.
She suggested trying the fig, bacon and vanilla bean scone or her gluten-free blackberry, orange and almond muffin.
“Gluten-free can be delicious,” she said. “The muffin is all encompassing. It’s got great flavor. It’s got great moisture.”
All ingredients in the pastries are organic, according to Armstrong.
The selection of baked goods at the shop rotate depending on the day.
What are open hours at Yokoso Coffee?
Yokoso Coffee is open from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
