ABOUT
KINGS ROAD
CAFE

About the café

Kings Road Cafe, founded by owner Lawrence Casperson in 1990, is truly a quintessential neighborhood cafe with exceptional on-premise small-batch, hand-roasted coffee, and fresh, made-to-order breakfast and lunch.

 

Deeply rooted in the neighborhood, Kings Road Cafe values authentic and personal connections with its customers.

 

The cafe feels safe and comfortable. It’s staffed by long term, recognizable employees who are truly honored to serve their guests.

MEET LAWRENCE CASPERSON

Lawrence grew up in San Francisco, California, and started working as a busboy when he was a teenager. Lawrence was considered a hard worker and always focused on improving himself in his work.

 

During the coming years, Lawrence created the opportunity to work in some outstanding restaurants. He began working in the tuxedo-level dining room of the legendary Grenadier’s in Wisconsin with Chef Knut Apitz. Grenadier’s was Lawrence’s introduction to European Michelin-Star level dining, which included gueridon service, cooking tableside and exceptional wine selections.

 

After a couple years in Wisconsin, Lawrence moved back to San Francisco. In The City, he continued working in fine dining at The Mark Hopkins Hotel, Le Castel, and the prestigious L’Etoile in The Huntington.

In 1981, Lawrence began work at the Elite Cafe under the famed restaurateur Sam Duvall. While working at the Elite Cafe, Lawrence befriended a small-batch coffee roaster in The City and began his coffee education of roasting, cupping, and blending.

 

A few years later, Lawrence became Sam Duvall’s apprentice restaurant manager. Over the course of eight and a half years, he and Duvall opened five restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

 

After his employment with Duvall, Lawrence went out on his own and, in 1990, opened Kings Road Cafe in Los Angeles. Kings Road Cafe merged Lawrence’s coffee roasting expertise and decades of restaurant experience.

 

Today, Kings Road Cafe is a Los Angeles landmark known for its world-renowned coffee and authentic cafe culture.