Eight years ago, Jeni Castro burned out after years of selling franchises for her beauty product business in Orange County. So she came up with a new business concept that fueled both her addiction to caffeine and her love for product branding and marketing.
The result was Coffee Dose, which became a viral sensation in 2018 with its line of “Anti-Bitch Serums,” which are sweet iced matcha and coffee lattes with sweet foams and house-made lavender, blueberry marshmallow and vanilla bean syrups. Castro came up with the name in recognition of the bad mood she’s usually in before her thrice-daily “doses” of caffeine.
Jeni Castro poses for a promotional photo at her Coffee Dose Brunch Club in Encinitas. (Studio 1208)
On Friday, Coffee Dose Brunch Club will open in The Ranch at Rancho Santa Fe shopping center in Encinitas. It is the Costa Mesa-based company’s fifth location and the first outside Orange County. Later this year, she and her husband and business partner, Oscar Castro, will open their sixth location in Palm Springs, where sit-down and drive-thru service will be offered.
The 1950s diner-inspired interior of Coffee Dose Brunch Club, which opens Friday, June 12, in The Ranch at Rancho Santa Fe shopping center in Encinitas. (Jordan Shiley)
Raised in Costa Mesa, Castro is a self-described “professional eater” who loves dining out and has worked in restaurants off and on since her teens. She’s also passionate about coffee, but said she found the male-dominated coffee scene in Orange County 10 years ago too serious and “lackluster.”
“As a female I was always craving experience and I feel like during that time frame there wasn’t enough of that,” she said. “I felt judged when I went into these coffee shops. I didn’t feel I could ask for vanilla or cold foam and have fun with it. I felt like I was the dumb girl asking dumb questions.”
So, when she came across an opportunity to lease an 88-square-foot space in a Costa Mesa beauty salon, she decided to launch a fun, experiential coffee drink business that would cater to customers like herself. To quickly establish the uniqueness of her products, she combined her edgy sense of humor with her branding skills.
Steak and eggs, left, and and fluffy “Disco Cakes” pancakes at Coffee Dose Brunch Club, which opens Friday, June 12, in The Ranch at Rancho Santa Fe shopping center in Encinitas. (Jordan Shiley)
“I wanted to tap into the market that was craving it. And ‘bitch’ on a cup? People went absolutely bananas,” she said. “I’m an only child and I was always wanting attention from my parents. I knew I had to get my attention-seeking behavior out. I had to coin something cheeky and fun … and people came from all over for that cup.”
Coffee Dose was an instant hit, quickly building a customer base that to this day remains 98% female, Castro said. There are now flagship and drive-thru locations in Costa Mesa and shops in Laguna Hills and Irvine.
Beyond the anti-bitch and “basic bitch” lattes, the shops serve regular espresso drinks, teas, mocktails, cocktails, pastries, and — depending on kitchen availability — breakfast and lunch entrées. The scratch-made menus are seed oil-free, with organic eggs, custom mushroom elixirs and gluten-free options.
The Dose Delux half-pound Wagyu burger with fries and house-made ranch dressing at Coffee Dose Brunch Club, which opens Friday, June 12, in The Ranch at Rancho Santa Fe shopping center in Encinitas. (Jordan Shiley)
Castro said she and her husband chose Encinitas for their newest shop because they loved the community’s vibe and the friendliness of the shoppers and merchants they encountered when they first visited the center at Encinitas Boulevard and Manchester Avenue. They hope to open two more San Diego County locations in the future.
The 1,800-square-foot Encinitas location, modeled after the company’s flagship in Costa Mesa, is designed to resemble a 1950s-style diner, complete with chrome accents and an old-fashioned pie case. A takeaway window is being added soon, and some of the side windows will be removed to expand access to the patio seating are.
“I’m an old soul. I love that we’re the finer diner,” she said of the restaurant’s look. “I love bringing back the old-school piece of dining and showing people you can take a step back in time.”
Some of the menu items unique to the Encinitas location are Disco Cakes, soufflé-style pancakes topped with miso honey butter glaze, and the Dose Delux, a half-pound Wagyu burger topped with Raclette cheese, roasted garlic aioli and caramelized onions.
“What’s on the menu here are all things that I love,” she said. “When I go to diners, I’m getting pancakes, a good burger and the most amazing fries with the best ranch (dressing).”
The shop at 162 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, Suite A-40, is now in soft-opening mode, with hours from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. only. That will expand to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily on Friday. Details are at coffeedose.cafe.