Get fresh beignets and coffee from this secret little shop in SLO
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- The Second Line serves beignets and espresso near San Luis Obispo Airport.
- Owner David Perlis runs the pop-up Tuesdays and Wednesday monings, 7 a.m. to noon.
- Perlis plans expansion based on sales, possibly opening a permanent location.
Two mornings a week, travelers and residents can get a taste of the Big Easy from a tiny, new pop-up coffeehouse near the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.
The Second Line specializes in fresh, made-to-order beignets and espresso, offering those treats from 7 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Wednesday, according to proprietor and beignet master David Perlis.
Why those days?
“Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the big days for the businesses around here,” he said of a primary customer base, adding that many of the area’s employees work remotely on Mondays and Fridays.
He also offers a 10% discount to people flying into or out of the airport — just show the same-day boarding pass.
If The Second Line’s sales warrant it, Perlis hopes to be open more days each week, add more products and expand his business model, maybe even into a permanent brick-and-mortar store, he told The Tribune.
The Second Line is tucked away in the front of The Kitchen Terminal’s shared commissary kitchen at 4750 Allene Way, at the corner of Kendall Road across Broad Street from the airport. It’s in the same neighborhood as the SLO Food Bank, Legacy Training Center and People’s Self Help Housing.
Enthusiasts say it’s worth the hunt to score the freshly fried pastries.
So, what is a beignet?
The Café du Monde in New Orleans brought fame to the iconic beignets — square fried pastries made of fluffy yeast dough and then immediately drenched in powdered sugar.
According to the National Day Archives, which lists the annual National Beignet Day as Sept. 17, “Beignets symbolize community and togetherness, often enjoyed with friends and family over lively conversations and good coffee.”
Yummm!
It all began with frying onsite at farmers markets
The route that led Perlis to The Kitchen Terminal’s shared commissary had a lot of twists and turns.
“My journey has been more of a bowl of spaghetti than a straight path,” he said with a chuckle.
“My very first job, while still in high school, was at Coffee Call,” an iconic beignet shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he said.
Perlis moved to California in 2018 with a new creative writing degree from Louisiana State University and a fledgling desire to become a ceramicist.
His adult beignet-making obsession started in the back of a Cambria coffee roastery where he was working.
When demand grew for his delicacies, Perlis expanded into a trailer-based business and plied the treats at local farmers markets. He still sets up at the Saturday market in Morro Bay and at the downtown SLO market on Thursday nights.
Then three years ago, while Perlis was off doing a weekend of California Army National Guard duty, someone stole his 12-foot commercial trailer and all his beignet-making equipment.
The Tribune wrote about the crime, and community members stepped up with donations and help to get The Second Line up and running again.
A lot has happened since then.
“Thanks to your article and all the wonderful folks donating from throughout the county (and beyond!), I was able to recover and keep The Second Line going,” he said.
He’s also since earned his stripes as a first lieutenant in the National Guard.
What is a second line?
“A second line is a New Orleans jazz parade,” Perlis said. “As a funeral procession would march down a street, onlookers — in true New Orleans fashion — would join onto the celebration of life, and the procession would grow. The ones putting on the procession were the main line. The ones who joined in were the second line.”
So, for his business, Perlis is the main line. “My customers are the second line. And, as any New Orleanian will tell you, without the second line, there is nothing.”
Where to get the beignets
To get to The Second Line from downtown SLO, take Broad Street toward the airport. Pass ACI Jets, then turn left at Kendall Road.
“Park about a block up near the corner of Allene Way,” Perlis advised. “Look for my giant painted menu board against the wooden gate.”
Park on the street. The adjoining lot belongs to a different business, he said.
Keep tabs on The Second Line on Instagram, see the menu and place your order on the shop’s website, and read reviews on Yelp and Google.
For more information, call 225-252-5457.
This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
