Dana Point / Coastal Orange County
Pacific Coast Highway carries most of the coffee we could confirm: Starbucks at Monarch Bay Plaza (32880 PCH, Suite 42) next to Primi Donuts, and two drive-thru Starbucks farther south at 34122 and 34297 PCH. Golden Lantern Street near Camino de Avion is the second pocket, with Starbucks in Ocean Ranch Village (32515) and inside Ralphs (32555). Dutch Bros lists no Dana Point stand and Peet's nearest store is at 32371 Golden Lantern in Laguna Niguel. A coffee house is permitted by right in all four commercial districts as a specialty food service use, but a drive-thru restaurant needs a conditional use permit in the NC and CC/P districts, and Lantern District and harbor sites follow their own plans.
Population
32,790
Median HHI
$141,520
Median age
47.4
Homeownership
62.4%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Pacific Coast Highway · Del Prado Avenue · Crown Valley Parkway · Golden Lantern · Street of the Green Lantern
Specific shopping centers in Dana Point that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
Pacific Coast Highway at Crown Valley Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: Gelson's Market, CVS Pharmacy
PCH at Crown Valley — the premium daily-needs and dining node for the Monarch Beach/Ritz-Carlton trade area. Restaurant mix includes Ichibiri Japanese, LUA Asian Fusion, and Salt Creek Grille. Local boutiques (Coastal Accents, Meesh Boutique) anchor the lifestyle side.
34085 Pacific Coast Highway
Anchors / key tenants: coastal lifestyle retail mix
PCH-frontage center with ocean views from select suites. Walking distance to Dana Point Harbor, Salt Creek Beach, and the Ritz-Carlton — a visibility play, not a daily-needs play.
Del Prado Avenue off Pacific Coast Highway
Anchors / key tenants: revitalized town-center dining and boutiques
The walkable revitalized core of Dana Point's town center — Spanish-style architecture, mile-long pedestrian shopping/dining corridor. Tilts toward chef-driven restaurants, boutiques, and lifestyle retail rather than daily-needs.
Dana Point Harbor Drive
Anchors / key tenants: harbor-facing seasonal and visitor retail
Harbor retail — seasonal visitor pattern, boat-charter and dock-traffic cross-shop. Currently in long-term redevelopment. Better for visitor-driven food and lifestyle concepts than daily-needs.
Golden Lantern Street
Anchors / key tenants: everyday essentials and specialty boutiques
Neighborhood-serving center with specialty foods, gifts, and convenience for the residential pocket around Golden Lantern.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Dana Point rents. These are publicly visible coffee shop space businesses currently trading in the market.
Starbucks (PCH & Crown Valley)
Monarch Bay Plaza, 32880 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 42, Dana Point, CA 92629
Listed on both Starbucks' locator (in-cafe, company-operated) and the Monarch Bay Plaza directory, which also has Primi Donuts at Suite 33 of the same building.
Starbucks (PCH & Granada)
34122 South Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, CA 92629
Company-operated with a drive-thru, per Starbucks' locator. Taco Bell's locator shows a drive-thru Taco Bell at 34117 Pacific Coast Highway.
Starbucks (PCH & Dana Point Harbor)
34297 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, CA 92629
Company-operated with a drive-thru, per Starbucks' locator.
Starbucks (Golden Lantern & Camino de Avion)
Ocean Ranch Village, 32515 Golden Lantern Street, Suite A, Dana Point, CA 92629
Starbucks' locator names the center as Ocean Ranch Village. A licensed Starbucks also operates inside the Ralphs at 32555 Golden Lantern, and Habit Burger's drive-thru is at 32505 Golden Lantern.
Primi Donuts
Monarch Bay Plaza, 32880 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 33, Dana Point, CA 92629
Per the center's tenant page.
Starbucks inside Albertsons
33601 Del Obispo Street, Dana Point, CA 92629
Licensed store inside the Albertsons, per Starbucks' locator. Club Pilates is at 33611 Del Obispo Street, Suite C.
01
Use: Section 9.11.020(b) lists 'Food Service Uses, Specialty' (defined in Section 9.75.270 to include coffee houses, bakeries, donut shops and sandwich shops) and 'Restaurant' (which includes coffee shops) as permitted in NC, CC/P, CC/V and V/RC. A walk-up restaurant with only outside service needs a conditional use permit in NC. In the Doheny Village districts (Section 9.14.020(d)) specialty food service is permitted in V-C/I, V-C/R and V-MS.
02
Parking depends on how Planning classifies you: Section 9.35.080(e)(47) parks a take-out restaurant (no more than four tables and 16 seats under Section 9.75.270) at 1 stall per 250 sq ft, a dine-in restaurant under 4,000 sq ft at 1 per 100 sq ft, and fast food at 10 stalls or 1 per 50 sq ft, whichever is greater. Outdoor seating over 16 seats adds 1 stall per 150 sq ft of the whole patio. Specialty food service has no row of its own, so under Section 9.35.080(a) the Director assigns the closest use. For a 1,500 sq ft cafe that is 6 stalls as take-out, 15 as dine-in, or 30 as fast food.
03
Drive-through: the table lists 'Restaurant, Drive-Through' as a conditional use permit in NC and CC/P and permitted in CC/V and V/RC, while the separate 'Drive-Through Uses' row is a conditional use permit in all four. Section 9.07.240 (no speakers, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours, commercial-only sites) is written for non-restaurant drive-throughs. The code sets no minimum queue length, so ask Planning and Traffic Engineering which rows and review apply before you commit to a drive-thru plan. In Doheny Village, drive-through restaurants are conditional in V-C/I and V-MS and prohibited in V-C/R.
04
Plan areas and the coast: Lantern District sites follow the Dana Point Town Center Plan as amended by the 2015 voter initiative, and Section 9.26.010(d) enforces Section 9.35.080(e) parking for each use with no credit for public parking. Harbor sites follow the Harbor Revitalization Plan (Section 9.25.010). In the Coastal Overlay District, Section 9.69.020 requires a coastal development permit for development, which Section 9.75.040 defines to include a change in the intensity of use, so ask whether converting a retail suite to a cafe triggers one.
05
Sewer and grease: South Coast Water District, which lists Dana Point in its service area, runs a Fats, Oils and Grease Control Program that requires food service establishments to hold a District permit renewed every three years, with at least annual inspections. Its grease control ordinance requires grease interceptors for establishments that are new, changing ownership or undergoing a major remodel that adds grease load (for example more seating). The District and the City fund a grease interceptor rebate, and compliant establishments can qualify for lower sewer rates.
06
Health plan check: the OC Health Care Agency's Plan Check unit reviews design and construction plans for all new and remodeled food facilities, asks for a menu and equipment specification sheets, and its approved plans go to the city building department. The annual health permit is issued after final inspection. Build plan check time into the lease before the rent start date.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.