You may know Buen Dia as the print shop with modern and colorful illustrations, or the market that sells creatively branded boxes of international goodies. Now its vivid and animated style is taking on the art of coffee.
According to Buen Dia owner and founder Jonathan Ventura, Buen Dia is a design company “first and foremost.”
After opening a print shop and market on Higuera Street in downtown SLO, Ventura said a coffee shop has always been the dream—not necessarily for the coffee itself but creating a space for people to connect.
“I think the goal of the company is just to make cool spaces, you know,” Ventura said. “We get interested in different things that are happening. I think everyone loves coffee. I’m a huge coffee drinker. So it’s something we just wanted to explore.”
Nestled in The Creamery, Buen Dia Coffee features custom colorful seating, walls, and decor, like the other shops under the Buen Dia company umbrella—which was the exact vision of Creative Director Gabrielle de Fontanes.
“If you’re familiar with all the spaces—the print shop, the market, now this shop—you can see the similarities between all of them,” she said. “And it might not necessarily be what’s inside it, but the feeling you get from being in the environment. I think that was our major kind of take on this coffee shop is … how can we create an environment that’s a little different from what’s happening in town.”
According to de Fontanes, what SLO lacks is human connection over a cup of coffee. Inspired by coffee scenes in Ventura’s home of Mexico and de Fontanes’ of France, Buen Dia Coffee doesn’t offer Wi-Fi or have any outlets for laptop charging.
“Obviously, we’re in a college town, but we really wanted to bring experiences that we’ve had traveling in other countries, Mexico City, France, where coffee is really just about bringing people together and enjoying the coffee, and not just in your bubble,” de Fontanes said. “It’s to really enjoy time to yourself, which I think we all lack a little bit of.”
Founder Ventura reflected on coffee culture in Mexico and said that while coffee is not a special experience per se, it’s essential, like water.
“Coffee has to be—it almost has to be so unimportant. But at the same time, the most important thing,” he said. “They can’t live without it. It’s kind of like breathing, and we wanted to have that here without being concerned about having everybody be on the computer, everybody just working.”
While Buen Dia has mastered its art of design, Ventura said it has not perfected the art of coffee … just yet.
The coffee shop gets its beans from a local roaster in Harmony, Morii Coffee, that Ventura called “scientists” to help Buen Dia Coffee find its flavor.
And the shop stays true to its name by only offering coffee drinks—no teas or food, with the occasional dabble in mocktails as well.
Its menu features classic favorites like lattes, Americanos, cold brew, and drip coffee, but also offers a variety of specialty drinks curated by Ventura, de Fontanes, and the Buen Dia Coffee team.
Signature drink Buen Dia is an iced Americano with house made cold foam—a sweet and balanced option for any coffee drinker who’s after a treat. Or Abuela’s Coffee, a hot or shaken espresso made with abuela’s favorite instant coffee and house-made spice blend that combines nostalgia with flavor.
“The Abuela, for example, we took inspiration from when you go to your grandma’s house and she has instant coffee,” Ventura said. “But you add spices to it, and it’s just so nostalgic, and that’s where that comes from.”
Design further manifests itself through quirky, rounded plastic cups for iced drinks, setting itself apart from the typical, standard iced cup, Creative Director de Fontanes said.
“I think we obsess about random things to people, like we obsess about what the cup feels like when you’re holding it. We had a meeting about, do we like this mug? How do you feel when you’re holding this mug or that mug?” she explained.
When it comes to mocktails, Buen Dia Coffee wants to create a safe space for customers to enjoy socialization without the pressure of drinking alcohol, and it currently offers a nonalcoholic Old Fashioned and coffee-flavored Carajio.
“We want to develop the mocktails more. Stay open late, have a space for people who might not drink alcohol or can’t drink alcohol, but still want a really fun space to hang out in and not feel weird about it,” de Fontanes said. “You know, I think there’s a huge movement for … nonalcoholic drinks, and we want to make space for that as well.”
Pink walls, colorful hanging lights, and Buen Dia merch like sweatshirts and tank tops only enhance the Buen Dia Coffee experience, and Ventura and de Fontanes think this makes all the difference.
“I think if we do [the design] well, the customer will be happy, you know?” Ventura said. “Because I think we all want the same thing. We want a good cup of coffee and to make it feel cute. I think this achieves that.” Δ
Staff Writer Libbey Hanson is finishing off the cold foam left on the lid of her Buen Dia drink. Send her your coffee order at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2024.