The Daily Pilot's photo from Saturday, Oct. 24 shows patrons lined up for coffee and snacks at a small stand between the Donald Dungan Library and the Norma Hertzog Community Center. That was the grand opening of Café Mesa, a coffee stand owned by the City of Costa Mesa and run by Neat Coffee owner Ally Garvin.
Garvin told the Daily Pilot she lives less than a mile from the park and goes there often. "It just feels like our backyard, our play space," she said.
The stand is 1,100 square feet and opens Thursday through Sunday. It closes a gap the Lions Park block has had since the library opened. Under the terms of its deal, part of what you spend on coffee goes to the library programs a few steps away.
The café was meant to open with the library
Café Mesa was supposed to be finished with the library and community center. The city set aside $1.1 million from its general fund for the buildout, but rising costs, the COVID pandemic and other constraints pushed the work back.
In 2022, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley's office added $1.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money, and the project moved again. The Daily Pilot put the total at $2.3 million and the timeline at nearly a decade.
Foley was Costa Mesa's mayor from 2018 to 2020 and came to the opening. She called the café a "new third space for the community."
That phrase describes what the block was missing. The 10-acre park already had the library, a playground, a ballfield and a community center. Until October, it had no place to buy a drink and sit down.
Where the 3% goes
The city chose Garvin as operator in February. The Daily Pilot's February report described a three-year agreement with a possible second three-year term, and Neat sending 3% of gross revenue back. Half of that money goes to OC Public Libraries for programming. The city's half supports maintenance.
The signed version, as the paper reported it in October, has the same shape: three years, one optional three-year extension, and 3% of gross revenue split between the city and OC Public Libraries. The library's share funds programming at the Dungan branch next door and the Mesa Verde branch.
In practical terms, the libraries get 1.5 cents of every dollar spent at the counter. A single latte won't change the library's budget. Over a full season of weekend mornings, though, the money goes to the storytimes and workshops that bring families to the block in the first place. Foley made the same point in her statement:
"Now, residents and visitors can grab a cup of coffee after picking up a new book at the library, knowing their money is being reinvested right here in Costa Mesa."
A Thursday-to-Sunday block
The café's days line up with the busiest part of the library's week. The Donald Dungan Library at 1855 Park Ave. is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On the café's four days, the library opens earlier on Friday through Sunday, and on Thursday it stays open until 7 p.m.
Several November programs at the Dungan branch fall on the café's days. None of them require registration:
| Date | Program | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 5 | Toddler Story Time | 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. | For ages 0 to 3, with stories, songs, movement and play |
| Saturday, Nov. 7 | Pumpkin succulent workshop | 1 to 2 p.m. | Materials provided while supplies last |
| Sunday, Nov. 15 | Fantasy terrarium workshop | 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. | Materials provided while supplies last |
Event pages are on the Toddler Story Time listing, the pumpkin succulent workshop listing and the fantasy terrarium listing on OC Public Libraries' calendar. The full Dungan branch schedule for the month, including Lego Club and teen and adult activities, is on the OCPL November calendar.
Toddler Story Time on Thursday, Nov. 5 is the clearest example of the café and library working together. The program ends at 11:30, the café is open that day, and the playground is across the lawn.
Garvin described what she saw in the first days: "It's been so fun to see so many families who are like, 'Oh my gosh, finally, we'll be here every day.'" She added: "It gives people permission to hang out here longer and a reason to stay."
The rest of the 10 acres
Lions Park sits at 570 W. 18th St. The city's park page lists its amenities:
- One playground
- A softball area with bleachers
- 13 picnic tables and one shelter
- A restroom and drinking fountain
- Electric outlets
The same page lists Davis Field, the Costa Mesa Historical Society, the Downtown Recreation Center, the Neighborhood Community Center, the Donald Dungan Library and Fire Station 5 as part of the Lions Park site.
The Norma Hertzog Community Center at 1845 Park Ave. is the building on the café's other side. It's mostly rented for gatherings, seminars, meetings and classes. Its main room holds 300 people theater-style, and there's a smaller conference room, a patio and an event lawn that can be added to a booking. That lawn hosted the café's ribbon cutting at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 24, according to the city's event calendar.
For a longer visit, the Costa Mesa Historical Society Museum at 1870 Anaheim Ave. is on the same site. Its visitor page lists public hours on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with other visits by appointment. It also lists two special exhibits, "Costa Mesa Stays in Tune" and "Costa Mesa – The Hull Story." That page is a few years old, so call ahead before you plan around it.
On paper, a Thursday or Friday morning on the block could include the museum, the library and the café. All three are open on those days.
What's in the cup
The coffee comes from Guatemala, Rwanda, Ethiopia and other origins. Garvin got interested in coffee production during a year in Uganda. She roasts the beans herself at Neat Coffee's Sunset Beach shop. That shop, with its roastery, opened in November 2025 at 16182 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Huntington Beach.
Neat's Costa Mesa roots go back further. Garvin started it as a popup in a Pomona Avenue co-working space in 2015 and moved into her own storefront on the same street four years later. According to Neat Coffee's website, that shop is at 1922 Pomona Ave. and is open every day from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Monday through Wednesday, when Café Mesa is closed, the Pomona Avenue shop serves the same roaster's coffee.
For now, Café Mesa serves brewed and iced drinks, snacks and prepared food. Garvin told the Daily Pilot she may add days and menu items, possibly opening the stand during library or civic events, once she knows the space and its customers better. The agreement runs three years from its signing this year, with one optional three-year extension. Over that time, Thursday-through-Sunday sales at the stand will keep sending money to programs at the Dungan and Mesa Verde branches.
At Mint Real Estate, we follow changes like this on the Westside because a coffee stand, a storytime and a park lawn shape everyday life on a block as much as anything in a listing. If you'd like a Costa Mesa agent who keeps up with what's opening near home, we'd be glad to hear from you.
