Home-based coffee shops provide unique perks for owners and customers

Opening an independent coffee shop costs between $80,000 and $300,000. But California and Utah have significantly lowered those startup costs by allowing people to operate food and beverage services out of their homes. Despite — and perhaps because of — their low profile, residential cafes are all the buzz in Los Angeles County.

Customers are lining up to place their coffee order at a single-family home in Torrance, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The place is Mi Familia Coffee, run by Isaias Morales and Dez Lopez.

“Mia Familia Coffee is really family-based. We want you to feel welcome like familia,” Morales said.

“We also thought it was a play on words. Because on our shirts it says I love M.F. coffee,” Lopez joked.

Mia Familia’s menu centers around family recipes, like the Oaxacan mocha that Morales’ grandmother served to him as a kid. It’s made from toasted cacao and coffee beans the couple gets from their relatives in southern Mexico.

“Those combined together are just the perfect cup of coffee. They hit just right, make you feel cozy,” Lopez said.

For years, Lopez and Morales had been juggling multiple jobs at grocery stores and coffee shops. They wanted to start their own business, but that dream was financially out of reach. Then, they found out about the Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation program, which gives out licenses for home-based food and beverage businesses.

The couple received their MEHKO permit after passing food handling and safety tests and a kitchen inspection. Then, Morales went door-knocking in their neighborhood.

“It was like, ‘Hey, I’m your neighbor. We want to start a coffee shop. We want you guys to come over and have a place to meet,’” Morales said.

Those neighbors now make up a big portion of Mi Familia’s clientele. But people from all over town come for the cafe’s unique vibes.

“I prefer to come here than to traditional coffee shops because it’s got more of a small, get-to-know-your-clientele feel,” customer Nick Ingram said.

Mi Familia is one of roughly 1,300 MEHKOs operating in California.

“The program creates a pathway for entrepreneurship that’s not available to most Americans,” said Roya Bagheri, the executive director of the COOK Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for these home operations.

According to Bagheri, the average cost to start a MEHKO is $1,000, which includes all licensing, equipment, and supplies.

“That is much more attainable for people to use it as an incubator to start their food business. And what’s been really amazing to see is that a third have used the program as a stepping stone,” Bagheri said.

MEHKOs were first legalized in Riverside County, California, in 2019. They’ve since spread to 19 other counties in the Golden State. Utah legalized them statewide in 2021. And Texas, Ohio, and Washington are currently considering similar legislation.

“Now that there is data coming out saying ‘Yes, it’s working. Yes, it’s safe,’ I think hopefully we’ll see more areas across the country that are willing to make that jump,” Bagheri said.

Mi Familia opened in July 2026 as a weekend-only cafe. They’ve since expanded to five days a week because of high demand.

“People are asking us to be open more. If we get to the point where there are people coming up every single day, and we’re getting lines, then I think we will have to open a brick-and-mortar,” Lopez said.

For now, though, Morales and Lopez like operating out of their house because they’ve built something that is hard to replicate in a commercial space.

“What’s better than knowing your own neighborhood? Now I can talk to them, say hi to them, know them on a first-name basis,” Morales said. “That’s really the reason we started the coffee business. It was to connect with people. To make them feel at home.”