La Quinta: Progress Marks 2021

New Tasty Treats

Among the tasty new options, La Quinta residents were jazzed to get a java jolt from the renowned Dutch Bros Coffee. Edward Hamer and his wife, Alyssa, moved to La Quinta from Eugene, Oregon, in late 2020 to open the desert’s first Dutch Bros location at Jefferson Street and Fred Waring Drive. They have since opened another valley shop. A graduate of the University of Washington, Hamer appreciated his coffee experience with this company during his high school and college days and began working there as a barista in 2011. “I am impressed with Dutch Bros’ philanthropic mission and that it isn’t “a turn and burn” coffee shop,” he said. If you’ve been to the La Quinta shop, you know that even though it’s a drive-through-only location, there is face-to-face interaction with the cheerful baristas who even take orders outside to keep the flow going.

“It’s been so busy since we opened,” said Hamer, noting the La Quinta store’s status among the more than 480 Western regional franchises in less than a year of its opening. “We are in the top three of the company as far as sales go,” he stated. “It shows this customer base was super ready for us to be here.”

¡Olé! La Quinta also has a new Mexican restaurant — Los Arcos, which opened this past May in the former Pizza Hut building in La Quinta Village Shopping Center. The family-owned restaurant is thrilled to have a long-term location to serve customers their flavorful cuisine, including their signature Chicken Mole dish, having signed a five-year lease with the option for renewal. Formerly in Cathedral City, they were outed twice due to landlord sale of buildings. The idea for the restaurant came from Jesus Almaraz. He and his father, Octavio, initially opened their restaurant in 2015. Brothers Christopher, Bryant and Steven serve customers and their mother, Patricia, helps in the kitchen.

“Since we’ve opened, we’ve done tremendously well,” said Almaraz. “I expected to be slow and build up clientele, but it was quite the opposite. We have not had a slow day. The highest day we used to have in Cathedral City is now our slowest day here so far. We are blessed with the La Quinta community and have been accepted with open arms.”

Another restaurant change, La Quinta Brewery, relocated this past year and took over the former Landmark Lounge spot in Old Town, providing them with a much larger kitchen facility. In big-box news, Panera Bread has pulled permits to demolish their current facility.