Family-run SLO County coffeehouse just opened a second location. Here’s where

A new, locally owned coffeehouse opened in the heart of downtown Atascadero over the weekend, marking its second location in San Luis Obispo County.

AMSTRDM Coffee House and Piano Lounge opened its new shop in a soft launch on Saturday, with its grand opening quickly approaching this Friday, Sept. 27.

Located at the corner of Palma Avenue and West Mall, AMSTRDM’s rolling garage door fills the shop with light and opens right onto Atascadero’s Sunken Gardens.

The new coffee shop occupies what used to be an optometry office across the street from City Hall and a block away from Atascadero Middle School and the Fine Arts Academy, giving residents, students and city government staff a convenient spot for a pick-me-up in the heart of downtown.

AMSTRDM will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will stay open later for any events happening in Sunken Gardens, co-owner Katelyn Smith said.

The shop will also have live music launching next month on Friday and Saturday evenings, she said.

Second SLO County location for AMSTRDM

North County coffee lovers may already be familiar with AMSTRDM from its original location at 725 13th St. in Paso Robles.

Smith and her finance, Corey Jordan, live above the shop and run it together.

“(We) never envisioned being in coffee or opening a second location,” Smith said. “It just kind of happened.”

Smith and Jordan, each former local winemakers who were born and raised in Atascadero and Paso Robles, respectfully, opened AMSTRDM together in the space in 2020 when they were approached by the previous owners who were forced to close their doors during the pandemic.

“It took a little bit of adjustment, but (it’s) kind of (like) that wine making approach where it’s all about flavors, balance and final product,” Smith said. “And then the hospitality aspect of it, we want (people) to enjoy their experience.”

Smith said the spot had been a cafe for around 20 years under a slew of different owners before AMSTRDM moved in. She said their name is an homage to the first coffee shop that occupied the spot, Amsterdam. The other shops that came between were Oak Pass and another location of Kreuzberg California.

Their Paso Robles shop also hosts live music performances at its sister location, LIBRETTO, down the street.

AMSTRDM offers a unique menu of waffle-pressed sandwiches and creative drinks like their espresso spritzer — a double shot over Perrier sparkling water — and lattes with unique house-made syrups like elderflower vanilla and their popular Himalayan salted caramel.

“We just wanted to do things that weren’t — not to use the word — but not basic,” she said.

AMSTRDM is the definition of a local small-business, owned and run by SLO County natives who source their ingredients from other nearby cafes.

They bake their croissants daily with dough from Edna’s Bakery in San Luis Obispo and source their beans from a local roaster and their nextdoor Paso Robles neighbors, Spearhead Coffee.

“When we took over that coffee shop, it was a pandemic so everyone was just struggling,” Smith said. “We wanted to support our neighbor instead of trying to compete with them. So by using their beans, you’re supporting a new coffee shop, but also supporting them as a roaster.”

Smith and Jordan got the ball rolling on expanding to the second location in Atascadero around late October of last year and signed the lease in January, Smith said.

The couple originally hoped to open the second store in mid-April but were delayed by health inspections, Smith said.

Over the course of about five months of construction, they broke down walls, painted and tiled the building and converted old exam rooms into kitchens and storage spaces. But they have also maintained certain features of the building’s history.

They plan to add more decorations and outdoor seating on the lawn in the coming weeks, she said.

Down the road, the couple hopes to start roasting their own coffee beans and have their eyes on a third and final location in Morro Bay, Smith said.

Plans for that store are in the works and it would open in 2026 if all goes according to schedule, she said.