Smoking Tiger Coffee & Bread will soon open five new locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. While each outpost will operate under the Smoking Tiger brand, it appears their functions will vary.
Angelenos can expect a Smoking Tiger coffee lab in Long Beach, a bread factory in Koreatown, and a coffee and bread locale in Diamond Bar. As for Orange County, customers can look forward to an Irvine-based bread factory and a coffee lab in Mission Viejo.
Per the company’s website, “Smoking Tiger was first established in 2020 with the goal to create a space where people of all ages can come together to create shared memories and embrace cultural differences without barrier.”
The Smoking Tiger team achieves this mission through the use of interior design, music, and crafted goods, as well as the sharing of some of Korea’s iconic flavors such as black sesame, yuzu, Korean honey oat, and mugwort.
As a brand, Smoking Tiger aims to spread and celebrate Korean culture through a number of avenues, including specialty coffee and well-crafted pastries.
An interview with Smoking Tiger’s Director of Operations Jeremy Lupinacci is forthcoming.
This article has been updated to include an interview with Lupinacci:
WN: When and where will each of the incoming locations open?
JL: We won’t be exposing any specific details about opening dates or addresses just yet as we’re still in the preparation phase. I can say, however, that we’re very excited to hopefully open three to four Smoking Tiger locations within the year — one of them hopefully by this summer — and I can say that we are looking to even expand out of state in a year to a year and a half.
WN: What inspired Smoking Tiger’s expansion?
JL: ARK FNC, the company that owns Smoking Tiger and for which I serve as Director of Operations, is focused on creating and influencing the food industry at large. We want to impact the culture around us, especially the ever-changing food culture in SoCal, and create trends.
That said, when it comes to expansion, it has always been our intent to grow and grow quickly.
WN: Can we expect the brand to continue taking over LA and OC?
JL: Most definitely. We hope to continue our growth exponentially, and we want to expand both north and south, stretching deeper into both counties.
WN: Will any of the incoming locations possess facets that are different or new to Smoking Tiger?
JL: This year, we’re hoping to debut a solidified sense of what our brand represents, so even the shops that are already open will end up looking a little bit different.
So, yes, there will be new elements and facets, but it won’t only be at the new stores. We’ll be rolling out a new line of bread items, a new drink list, and even the store spaces will have some new exciting details.
We want to create a space where people can live their lives.
