Our Story
Specialty coffee that doesn't take itself too seriously.
From a La Crescenta garage to three locations across LA. Still roasting to order. Still not precious about it.
How It Started
Alan Janoyan started roasting coffee in a La Crescenta garage in 2013. Not as a business — as an obsession. He taught himself the craft, eventually received formal training from coffee expert Willem Boot, and started selling at LA farmers markets. Arthur Sohrabian joined him. They named it Unincorporated because Altadena itself is unincorporated — not quite Los Angeles, not quite a city of its own. Something in between.
The Mission
The mission hasn't changed since day one: bridge the gap between the habitual Starbucks drinker and the intimidating specialty coffee world. Make specialty coffee approachable and enjoyable to our communities.
That means not being precious about it. Not gatekeeping. Not making someone feel dumb for ordering a latte. The coffee can be serious without the experience being serious.
The Altadena Roastery
In 2018, Alan and Arthur opened the flagship roastery at 3045 Lincoln Ave in Altadena. The same machines they use today — a 1-lb and 5-lb San Franciscan — are the ones that have roasted every bag since. Roasted to order. No warehouse inventory. No coffee sitting on a shelf for six months.
Growing Into LA
In 2022, UCR acquired Swork Coffee in Eagle Rock — the neighborhood's first coffee bar, 21 years old at the time. They kept the staff, retrained the menu, and brought the roastery's coffee to one of LA's most coffee-literate neighborhoods. A Tujunga pop-up is running now at 10043 Commerce Ave., with a permanent location in build-out.
Community
The Unincorporated Mural Project
Every year, UCR commissions a new mural on the exterior wall of the Altadena roastery. Each piece is created by a local or regional artist — the brief is simple: make something that belongs to this place.
Past artists include Brendan Monroe, Cleon Peterson, and Austin Scott. Scott's 2024 piece — "Altadena Forever" — became a community landmark in the months following the Eaton Canyon Fire, drawing visitors from across the region.
If you're an artist interested in the program, reach out at paco@unincorporated.coffee.
Learn More →"Art in the neighborhood, coffee in the cup."
The Mascot
Meet Paco
Paco is a plaster seagull. He has been with UCR since the beginning — presiding over the Altadena roastery with the quiet authority of someone who has seen things. He does not roast coffee. He does not take orders. He simply is.
Paco is available for purchase at $350,000. This is non-negotiable. All sales are final. No refunds. No returns. Paco does not ship.
He is, by any reasonable measure, the most important figure at Unincorporated Coffee Roasters. The humans are aware of this.
View Paco's product page →