Laguna Hills / South Orange County
Alicia Parkway near the I-5 interchange is where the coffee drive-thrus are: Dutch Bros at 24791 and Starbucks at 24896, and Caltrans' 2024 counts put I-5 at the Alicia Parkway interchange at 154,900 to 163,800 vehicles a day. For a walk-in cafe, Oakbrook Village on Avenida De La Carlota next to I-5 has a bakery cafe among its shop tenants and small vacancies of 515 to 2,400 SF in Buildings H, P and Q. The former Laguna Hills Mall just north of Oakbrook is being replanned, and the owner's 2026 proposal shows five restaurant pads of 5,000 to 8,000 SF plus shops buildings. Philz's nearest store is across the city line at 24440 Alicia Parkway, Suite D, Mission Viejo, and Peet's lists no Laguna Hills store.
Population
30,740
Median HHI
$128,851
Median age
41.7
Homeownership
70%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Alicia Parkway · El Toro Road · La Paz Road · Paseo de Valencia · Moulton Parkway
Specific shopping centers in Laguna Hills that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
24231–24321 Avenida De La Carlota
Anchors / key tenants: Trader Joe's, REI Co-op, Road Runner Sports, See's Candies
Size: 130,000 SF
20-acre, roughly 130,000 SF center owned by Fritz Duda Company and anchored by Trader Joe's and REI Co-op. A 2015 redevelopment phase added apartments and more retail. Available suites are small-shop sized rather than large-format boxes.
24721–24781 Alicia Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: Marshalls, Dollar Tree
Power-center pocket at Alicia/I-5 with the strongest national co-tenancy in Laguna Hills. The center had an Amazon Fresh, and Amazon announced in January 2026 that it would close all of its Amazon Fresh stores, so confirm what now occupies that box. New food tenants include Mendocino Farms, Dave's Hot Chicken, Five Guys, and Dutch Bros. The premium destination for fast-casual and beauty/wellness in the city.
25381 Alicia Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: 7-Eleven, El Pollo Loco, Pizza Hut, Yogurtland
Size: 61,000 SF
Convenience-tilted neighborhood center across from Laguna Hills High School. Mix includes Bagel Me!, Nutrition Zone, U & I Sushi, Antojito's Market, Kabo Cantina, and Healthy N Tasty. Strong daytime school/family traffic.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Laguna Hills rents. These are publicly visible coffee shop space businesses currently trading in the market.
Dutch Bros Coffee (Alicia)
24791 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Drive-thru stand with a walk-up window, opened June 13, 2025, per the stand data behind Dutch Bros' own locator. Hours 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Starbucks (Alicia & Bentley)
24896 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Company-operated store with a drive-thru and in-cafe seating per Starbucks' locator, open 4:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The only Starbucks the locator shows with a Laguna Hills address.
Scratch Bakery Cafe
Oakbrook Village, 24231 to 24321 Avenida De La Carlota, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Named as a featured tenant on owner Fritz Duda Company's Oakbrook Village page, alongside Trader Joe's and REI Co-op. No suite number is given.
01
Use class: the code defines a 'Fast food restaurant' as one where patrons order at a counter, which fits most coffee bars, while a 'Restaurant' takes orders at the table. 'Restaurant, fast food/no drive-thru' needs a site development permit in the CC (Table 9-28.020), FC (9-26.020), NMU (9-29.020) and MXU (9-30.020) districts. Under 9-92.080.G the Community Development Director approves site development permits by letter for nonresidential projects of 20,000 sq ft or less.
02
Drive-thru: 'Restaurant, fast food/drive-thru' and 'Drive-thru' each need a conditional use permit in CC, FC, NMU and MXU. Table 9-92.030 sends CUPs to the Planning Agency with notice to owners within 300 feet, and the city's review handout estimates 60 to 90 days after a complete application. Chapter 9-44 gives no numeric stacking count for restaurant lanes (only car washes mention stacking), so ask Planning and the City Engineer what queue they will want; Table 9-44.D does set a 9-foot minimum vertical clearance over drive-through lanes (10 feet for vans).
03
Parking in Table 9-44.A is heavy for counter service: fast food needs 10 stalls or 1 per 50 sq ft of gross floor area, whichever is greater, so a 1,500 sq ft coffee bar needs 30 stalls; take-out only is 1 per 250 and dine-in under 4,000 sq ft is 1 per 100. Outdoor seating over 16 seats adds 1 stall per 150 sq ft of the whole patio. In a center parked at the 1 per 200 retail rate, restaurant space beyond 10% of the center's floor area, or any single restaurant over 1,000 sq ft, is parked at the restaurant rate, so ask the landlord for the center's restaurant allocation.
04
Speaker boards: Section 9-40.190 says no loudspeaker or other communication device tied to a use may be discernible beyond the parcel's boundary line. Place the order point and lane with that in mind, especially on parcels backing onto homes.
05
Oakbrook Village and the former mall are in the Urban Village Specific Plan area (Village Commercial district, Section 9-24.010). The amended plan posted for the July 2026 hearing lists 'Restaurant' and 'Restaurant, Fast Food/no drive-thru' as permitted and 'Drive-thru' as a CUP in its Table 1, and says the plan area is served by El Toro Water District for water and sewer. ETWD requires any commercial kitchen discharging fats, oils and grease to file a Wastewater FOG Application; outside ETWD's portion of the city, confirm the sewer agency's rules.
06
Health and city sign-off: the Orange County Health Care Agency's Plan Check unit reviews plans for all new and remodeled food facilities, and the annual health permit is billed separately. Laguna Hills does not issue business licenses; every new tenant needs a Certificate of Use and Occupancy ($250.10 without construction), and the city asks tenants to confirm zoning with the Planning Division before signing a lease.
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.