A Matcha and Espresso Kiosk Slipped Into Santa Monica Place

People's Goods took over the mall's old Ugo Cafe kiosk, and a window notice listed 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. soft-opening hours.

People's Goods still says on its own website that it has yet to open. The coffee and matcha kiosk in the middle of Santa Monica Place didn't wait for the website to catch up: a small notice in its window points to a soft opening from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Westside blog Toddrickallen reported Oct. 30.

The pitch is short. The shop's page promises espresso, matcha and a rotating list of seasonal drinks. Todd Rick Allen, who runs the blog, linked to a menu.

The spot is the better story. Allen says the kiosk once held Ugo Cafe, the Italian coffee bar he reported gone from the mall in September 2020, one of a run of Westside closures he was tracking early in the COVID crisis. He now calls Santa Monica Place "troubled," and a fresh espresso machine in its center is a small vote against that word.

The coffee bar in that kiosk was, in Allen's word, "beloved." That's the bar the newcomer has to clear.

Source: toddrickallen.com, retrieved November 1, 2026. Other sources: the People's Goods website, toddrickallen.com (2).