Cuesta College’s SLO campus cafeteria is now home to a new coffee shop. Drip Coffee, a Northern California-based company that has been providing coffee and food services to California community colleges for almost 34 years, welcomed Cuesta students Tuesday for the first day of the Spring semester. 

The cafe was approved to open at Cuesta by the Cuesta Board of Trustees in the fall of 2025, with plans to open in the new Campus Center, which at the time was expected to be open in January 2026. 

With the Campus Center’s completion date now uncertain due to construction and supply chain delays, Drip Coffee has created an interim cafe in the Cafeteria serving a large variety of drinks, food and snack options. 

“The new location will have a much larger selection, but it feels good to be here at Cuesta, getting to know the community before we move into our originally planned space,” Drip Coffee owner Katherine Johnson said.

“So far, we’ve been blown away by the efficiency and kindness of the culture here at Cuesta,” Drip Coffee business partner Bobby Coyle said. “We had an issue with the fridge, and immediately we had assistance. This is not how it usually goes. We’re usually on an island and have to beg for help from the schools we’re at,” he said. 

“Even during the interview process, we could tell Cuesta was going to be different. The level of care here is something we haven’t experienced in our 34 years of business, it makes us that much more excited to be here,” Johnson said. 

Johnson and Coyle both expressed the importance they put on being a business that works to uplift the communities they enter.

“We’re trying to source as much locally as possible. It’s a little complicated locationally with Cuesta being on a bit of an island, but we have already established two vendors local to San Luis Obispo that have been so wonderful to work with,” Coyle said. 

The cafe serves SLO Baked fresh pastries daily, and Kitchen & Vine, who makes the cafe’s wraps, salads and sandwiches. 

Drip Coffee’s drink menu features classics like lattes, cappuccinos, chai, matcha, and tea, and also offers rotating specials that change every month and season. 

“It’s always a money-back guarantee here. Coffee is expensive. If you order something and don’t like it, just let us know, we will remake it or give you your money back. We really appreciate feedback,” Johnson said. 

The staff working behind the counter are Cuesta and Cal Poly students, and Gina Andreatta, another Drip Coffee partner, who has been with the company for over 15 years. 

“Hopefully, our presence in the cafeteria will make it feel like more of a place students want to come and gather. We hope to participate in events around campus, cater for clubs and meetings, and just keep highlighting the importance of community through coffee and food,” Johnson said. 

Drip Coffee is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the SLO campus cafeteria, located in building 5100.