Founded in 2006 by childhood best friends and now business partners, Gary Chau and Mark Wain, Caffe Luxxe was born as a place that has “delicious coffee with an amazing, beautiful environment that matches the product itself,” Chau said.
Chau, a UCLA alum with a degree in political science, alongside Wain, who majored in economics at Berkeley, were inspired by coffee shops in Seattle, that, at the time, had amazing coffee, but lacked an environment that matched the vibe. With that, they took the idea of bringing that into Los Angeles and drew inspiration from Europe, especially Italy, for the space they wanted to create.
When asked about the foundations of their business, Chau explained, “the foundation of our business is our friendship together. I’m not actually sure either of us would continue to do this business without the other person. We also quickly decided that we’re actually in the business of people. Yes, there’s coffee and things to eat, but that’s the catalyst to bring people together. What we really want to create is the experience you just described — people finding a place to socialize with family and friends. “
This also explains why they don’t offer wifi in their cafes. Chau said, “our premise of no WiFi was to get human beings to disconnect for a little bit and become human again.” The physical environment is reflective of this notion, where one can hear conversations throughout the cafe instead of clicking keyboards.
In describing the brand of Caffe Luxxe, especially serving specialty coffee, the premise is around “creating an environment for people to get together with the quality of the coffee at the same luxury feel,” Chau stated. The coffee is sourced by them and locally roasted in Gardena, with Wain being the “master roaster,” setting the flavor profiles. The last element goes back to the inspiration from Europe, making the place feel, as Chau put it, “comfortable. And local.”
More on the European influence, Chau and Wain realized their customers had an interest in lifestyle products — so they ended up with their own branded bath and body collection: soap, lotion and lip balm. It’s not about the Caffe Luxxe name brand but the quality and function matching the brand. Chau delved into elaborating on how that seeps into the overall brand and links to coffee. He said, “Our bath collection includes green coffee extract, which has more antioxidants and energizing properties than roasted coffee. We use biotech oleosome technology derived from seeds. It acts as a natural time-release system on your skin. Each scent represents a place we’ve traveled. For example, Positano — sea salt, subtle coconut vanilla, citrus, bougainvillea. It’s meant to capture standing on a cliff in the Amalfi Coast at sunrise.”
Circling back on the flavors of the drinks themselves, what initially made Caffe Luxxe stand out to me was the Honey Buzz shaken espresso. During the interview, I learned that this was actually a seasonal drink and due to its popularity, it went on the permanent menu. This drink was created by someone Chau calls the “mad scientist,” a drink developer on the Caffe Luxxe team.
Before each season, Chau researches global trends, fashion colors, flavor trends and fragrance notes, translating them into drinks.
In recognition of their 20-year anniversary, Chau highlights major changes that have occurred over the past two decades. Most recently, they unfortunately lost their Pacific Palisades location to the fires and had the Malibu branch closed for six months. Following that, there were also tariff fluctuations that caused coffee prices to spike 30%. Chau shares with gratitude, “We’ve survived stock market crashes, real estate collapses, multiple fires, COVID and economic instability. I feel very fortunate we’re still here 20 years later.”
Through the years of partnership, Chau’s advice on maintaining it was complete trust. “That’s the foundation. We know we would never harm each other. We divide responsibilities. He runs operations. I run marketing and retail experience. If we disagree, whoever owns that department makes the final call. Keep it plain and mature,” said Chau.
Amongst their most recent accomplishments has been a merger between Caffe Luxxe and Sugarfina, aimed to help Caffe Luxxe grow faster while maintaining quality and experience.
If you’re ever by one of their branches, make sure to stop by and try the coffee!
