Walk Hollywood Blvd after dark right now and one storefront stops you in your tracks. The neon is already on, glowing white and gold against the stone facade. It reads Coffee By SHAMS. Underneath it, a second sign: THE NEW EAST.
In the window next to the door, there is a poster that tells you a lot about the personality of this place before you ever taste a thing. A cheerful cartoon zebra in a green apron is holding a cup of coffee, grinning like it knows a secret. Underneath it, in bold letters: NOT JUST COFFEE.
That is exactly the point. This is not just another coffee shop opening on the Blvd. It is shaping up to be one of the biggest, most ambitious new openings Hollywood has seen in years, and it is hoping to open soon.
The First Impression From the Sidewalk
In the photo that has been circulating, you can see the whole block coming to life at night. The Coffee By SHAMS - The New East space is all glass, light, and clean lines. Inside, you can already make out a long counter, pale green stools, wooden shelving, and warm lighting that feels more lounge than grab-and-go cafe.
Right next door is The New East Restaurant & Lounge, with its own glowing sign, and a few doors down is Northern Cafe, the beloved dumpling house. The sidewalk still has that classic Hollywood mix: stars in the pavement, tourists strolling, and, in daytime photos from October, workers on ladders finishing window work on the Coffee By SHAMS facade.
It looks finished from the outside, lived-in from the inside, and just on the edge of opening. That in-between moment is what makes it so exciting to write about.
What Is Coffee By SHAMS?
Coffee By SHAMS - The New East is the new global project from Kuwaiti singer and personality Shams Al Kuwaitia.
On July 1, 2026, she signed the contract to launch the restaurant and cafe inside the historic Taft Building in Hollywood, an announcement covered at the time as a major move from Arab entertainment into the U.S. hospitality market.
Two weeks later, on July 16, she filmed herself from her car in Los Angeles announcing the project in her own words. She described it as a massive restaurant, coffee shop, and lounge in the heart of Hollywood, built because demand for the original coffee brand had outgrown online-only sales and needed a real, physical home.
She also stressed something she returns to again and again: her own high standards for quality, taste, and ambiance. This is not a licensed name slapped on a generic cafe. By her account, she has been personally involved in the design and the quality control, even when the process was exhausting.
That personal stake matters, because Hollywood has seen plenty of celebrity coffee concepts come and go. This one feels different because the concept is so specific, and the location is so historic.
Inside the Taft Building: A Hollywood Landmark Gets a New Chapter
You cannot talk about this opening without talking about the building.
Coffee By SHAMS - The New East will sit at 6280 W. Hollywood Blvd. and 1680 North Vine Street, on the southeast corner of Hollywood and Vine. That is the Taft Building.
When the Taft Building was completed in 1923, it was the first high-rise office building in Los Angeles. Built in the Renaissance Revival style by architects Walker & Eisen for developer A.Z. Taft Jr., the twelve-story tower was constructed in just 65 days and quickly became home to studios, lawyers, and entertainment figures. Over the years it housed offices for Charlie Chaplin, Will Rogers, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Today it is designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #666.
In other words, Shams did not pick a random empty retail space. She picked the building that literally helped invent Hollywood as a business district, directly across from the Pantages Theatre, with Audrey Hepburn's star outside the main entrance.
That choice sets a tone. The ground floor has always been retail, but a 8,000-square-foot, three-in-one venue is a new kind of use for this corner. It turns a historic office lobby into a gathering place again.
What Does "The New East" Actually Mean?
The name is the most misunderstood part of the project, and Shams has been very clear about it in her announcements.
"The New East" is not just Arab culture. It is a broad, modern idea of the East.
In her July announcement, she listed the influences as Turkish, Iranian, Armenian, Gulf, Japanese, Korean, and other Eastern cultures. In another announcement video, she expanded that list to also include Indian and broader Asian influences, describing the venue as a modern Eastern-inspired coffee shop, restaurant, and lounge.
Think of it less as a single country's restaurant and more as a curated map. One table could be drinking Turkish coffee. The next could be trying a Japanese-inspired dessert. The lounge could be playing oud music one night and K-pop-influenced visuals the next. The through-line is not one flag, it is a shared Eastern aesthetic: hospitality, ceremony around tea and coffee, bold flavor, beautiful ceramics, and long, unhurried meals.
That is a smart idea for Hollywood. The Blvd is already one of the most international streets in Los Angeles, with tourists from every continent walking past every hour. A concept that lets a visitor from Istanbul, Tehran, Dubai, Seoul, and Tokyo all see something familiar, while letting a local from Los Angeles discover something new, fits this corner perfectly.
Fans have already been pitching ideas in the comments, from traditional Gulf seating on the floor, to Arabic coffee served with dates, to family-friendly areas and healthy, organic menus. The enthusiasm shows how much people want to see themselves in this space.
Not Just Coffee: Three Venues in One
The tagline on the poster says it all: NOT JUST COFFEE.
Based on everything announced so far, Coffee By SHAMS - The New East is designed as three experiences under one roof:
1. The Coffee Shop
This is the daytime engine. Expect specialty coffee with a Middle Eastern twist, the kind of drinks that built the original brand: saffron, rose, cardamom, orange blossom, date cream, and other flavors you do not find at a standard chain. The zebra mascot, with its green apron and playful wink, suggests the brand does not want to be stuffy. It wants to be fun, photogenic, and welcoming, even while the coffee itself is serious.
2. The Restaurant
Job listings for the opening team have included both a professional barista and an experienced grill chef, which tells you this is a real kitchen, not just pastries next to an espresso machine. While the official menu has not been published yet, the "New East" concept points to grilled meats, mezze-style sharing plates, rice dishes, and dishes drawn from Turkish, Iranian, Gulf, and Asian kitchens.
3. The Lounge
In the evening, the space is expected to shift into lounge mode. Low light, comfortable seating, music, and a place to linger. Hollywood has a lot of bars and a lot of coffee shops, but very few places that do both well in the same room without feeling like a compromise. If Coffee By SHAMS pulls this off, it could become a rare all-day spot: morning coffee, afternoon work session, dinner, and late-night lounge, all without leaving the Taft Building.
The interior glimpsed through the glass already hints at that flexibility. The front looks bright and cafe-like, with bar seating facing the street. Deeper inside, the shelving and warmer tones suggest a more intimate, restaurant-like back area.
Why Hollywood Blvd Needed This
Hollywood Blvd gets a lot of criticism, sometimes fairly, for feeling too touristy. But anyone who actually walks it knows the real story is more interesting. Between the Pantages, the Egyptian Theatre, the record shops, the dumpling houses, the taco stands, and the new specialty coffee bars, there is a real neighborhood here trying to grow up without losing its history.
What the Blvd has been missing is a large, culturally rooted anchor that is not a chain and not a nightclub. A place where a family visiting from abroad can eat well, a creator can film content, a local can meet a friend for coffee, and a couple can stay for dinner.
Coffee By SHAMS - The New East, at roughly 8,000 square feet and described in announcements as the largest venue of its kind in Hollywood, could be that anchor. It brings a new cuisine story to a block that already has Chinese dumplings, American diners, and classic Hollywood bars. It adds the East to Hollywood and Vine in a way that feels intentional, not imported.
It also brings jobs and foot traffic to a historic building that deserves to be busy again. When the Taft Building is lit up at night, the whole intersection feels safer, warmer, and more alive.
When Will It Open? What We Know, and What We Are Still Waiting For
As of the latest photos and listings, Coffee By SHAMS is in that hopeful "opening soon" phase.
Here is what we can piece together:
Signage is up. The main "Coffee By SHAMS" sign and the "THE NEW EAST" sign are installed and illuminated, as seen in the nighttime photo.
Interior fit-out is visible. Counters, seating, and shelving are in place through the glass.
Hiring is underway. Listings from August through October 2026 show the team hiring a professional, hospitality-driven barista and a grill chef for the opening team in Hollywood.
Construction finishing touches were still happening in late October. A daytime carousel from October 23, 2026 shows workers near the facade appearing to install or repair window glass, with pedestrians walking past on the Walk of Fame.
No official grand opening date has been announced in the sources available so far. That is normal for a project this size in a historic building. Permits, inspections, kitchen build-out, and staffing all have to line up.
The best way to think about it is: the hard part, the building, the brand, the concept, the team, is done. Now it is about the final countdown.
What To Expect On Your First Visit
When the doors do open, here is what I would plan for:
Arrive early if you want the coffee shop experience. The light through those tall Taft Building windows in the morning is going to be beautiful, and the zebra poster alone tells you this place is built to be photographed.
Stay for the transition. The most interesting moment will be late afternoon, when the cafe turns into a restaurant and lounge. Order something grilled, try a rose or saffron latte, and watch Hollywood and Vine change from daytime tourist rush to nighttime glow.
Bring someone who loves to try new flavors. This is a sharing menu kind of place, even before we see the official menu. The New East concept is made for "try this" moments.
And take a second to look up. You are sitting in a 1923 landmark that once housed the Academy. There are not many coffee shops in the world where you can say that.
How To Find It
Coffee By SHAMS - The New East is at the southeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, in the Taft Building.
It is right on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, steps from the Hollywood/Vine Metro B Line station, across from the Pantages Theatre, and next door to Northern Cafe. If you are walking east from the Egyptian Theatre, you will see the glowing SHAMS sign on your right before you hit Vine.
The Bottom Line
Hollywood has always been a place where people come to reinvent themselves. A Kuwaiti singer building a new Eastern coffee house, restaurant, and lounge inside Hollywood's first high-rise feels like a perfect Hollywood story: old building, new dream, and a name that means "sun" shining over the Blvd at night.
It is not open yet. But the lights are on, the zebra is smiling, the team is hiring, and the sign is already becoming a landmark in photos.
When Coffee By SHAMS - The New East finally opens its doors, do not just walk past. Go in, order something you have never tried before, and stay a while. That is exactly what this place was built for.
Note: This blog is based on the storefront as photographed, public announcements from Shams Al Kuwaitia in July 2026, and current hiring and construction activity. The official opening date and full menu have not yet been announced. I will update this post when they are.
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