Inside Pura Vida Coffee Bar, a new two-story coffee shop serving lattes, matcha, food and more

Live palm trees, two stories of seating and stacked food and drink menus: A new oasis for coffee lovers has debuted on Nicholson Drive. Pura Vida Coffee Bar opened April 26. 

The coffee shop comes from owners and business partners Canon Cockrell and Jordan and Victoria Arroyo, who wanted to bring a larger, chill hangout and study spot closer to LSU’s campus. The 4005 Nicholson Drive space, over 5,000 square feet, previously housed a Regymen Fitness. It offers plenty of room for customers to spread out, lounge, work, study and more all day. Plans are in the works for later hours and a menu of beer and spirits.

“I actually graduated from LSU back in 2016, and I remember not having any place like this around campus,” Cockrell says. “If we wanted to meet up as a group and study, we would have to go to a CC’s, or find somebody’s apartment and try to use one of their study rooms.”

The goal was to create a vibey space that was big enough for patrons to spread out while also providing a relaxing vibe for work and study. Green velvet stools and couches, gold details and natural wood accents along with the shop’s name were inspired by Jordan’s home in Costa Rica. There are live plants and colorful neon lights throughout. 

“‘Pura Vida’ is a term that they say in Costa Rica,” Cockrell says. “The technical translation is ‘pure life.’ It just kind of means good vibes, and people say it to each other whenever they’re either greeting each other or leaving each other.”

Victoria adds, “This is actually a perfect name for the place, because it kind of embodies our experiences with Costa Rica.” 

The first floor houses the coffee bar with plenty of tables. Couches and barstools are also available so patrons can snatch their ideal spots. Upstairs, earthy green couches and tables fill the room. Cockrell says the second floor used to house all of the gym’s electric bikes, so it has plenty of outlets for charging devices. There is also a large meeting table for bigger groups, which Cockrell says is a popular spot. Going forward, he says they will add more tables and spots to accommodate more sizable groups. 

The drink menu includes teas; Japanese, ceremonial-grade matchas; and a coffee selection, made with high-quality beans roasted by award-winning, Arkansas-based Onyx Coffee Lab. Cockrell says specialty drinks will rotate out based on new ideas and seasonal flavors. Paninis, pastries, toasts and parfaits make up the food lineup for those who need morning fuel, an afternoon snack or want to enjoy meals while spending long days at the shop. Since opening, Victoria says that the Coastal Cruz, a latte with oat milk, sweet cream, agave and cinnamon, has been a customer fave. 

“I’ve actually been making (the Coastal Cruz) at my house for the past two to three years,” Cockrell says. “I’ve introduced all the baristas to it, and they all loved it. We’re trying to have three to four special coffees at a time. And we have our normal coffees with a bunch of different syrups. But we also wanted to just keep a constant flow of new coffees and new things to try.”

Other signature coffee drinks include the Flora Vida, a latte made with a signature lavender-rosemary syrup, and the Tamarindo Tide, a matcha with oat milk and house-made coconut-lime syrup. The food menu focuses on sandwiches, wraps and salads with weekly specials like a hot honey chicken sandwich and brisket panini. Cockrell says these food specials are helping the team see what customers like to help grow and cement the menu in the future. 

“We want to be a coffee shop first,” Victoria says. “We would go to all these coffee shops to taste and see what they had around. And we wanted people to also want to come and eat. We didn’t want to do a full kitchen with fried foods or really intensive dishes, but we still wanted it to be good food. So that’s where we fell into paninis, pressed sandwiches … and they’re all delicious.” 

Cockrell says Pura Vida has applied for its liquor license and will also offer alcoholic beverages soon. He hopes the shop will have a chill bar atmosphere in the afternoon with drinks like beer, coffee liqueurs and martinis. Being so close to campus, they also are aiming to offer preorders of gallons of frozen espresso martinis that can be picked up on the way to football tailgates this fall. And, yes, the coffee bar’s 100-inch flat-screen TV will be playing football games all season. 

No matter the reason for a customer’s visit or the time of day they stop by Pura Vida, Cockrell says the shop will always keep a calm and relaxing vibe. With students home for the summer, there’s plenty of seating to grab inside, making Pura Vida a spot for coffee enthusiasts, remote workers and those wanting a new spot to catch up with friends. 

Pura Vida is open daily, 7 a.m.-7 p.m, with later hours on the way once the liquor license is acquired. Pura Vida is at 4005 Nicholson Drive.