Our Story

Who is Lucky's?

Lucky's opened June of 2019 in the heart of Downtown Upland. Founded by Tyler Smith, a coffee professional the industry, a specialty shop was born in his hometown. Tyler grew up in Upland, CA and wanted to bring specialty coffee to the Inland Empire.

Working for the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) and coffee manufacturing companies such as Wilber Curtis, he also helped found Roaster's Guild and Technician's Guild at the SCA. Helping with the specialty sector at the SCA, his love and passion grew for coffee.

Lucky's comes from Tyler's roots and background of not only being Irish, but being lucky and blessed to have a family as an adopted child. He wanted Lucky's to be a sense of his roots; creating his own legacy and also bringing his passion into the city he loves.

Tyler in a brown jacket standing on a city street with tall buildings and advertisements in the background.

community & people

Our saying is that we aim for community not competition. We aim to work with our local roasters (who are also our friends), to make a healthier coffee community that supports one another. Although, we are all competing against one another, without each other, our customers wouldn't go on coffee crawls or trying new coffees to visit each and every one of us. So we work together to help each other be successful and keep our vision going.

Within our cafes and our staff, we aim for transparency and communication. Above all, making our cafes a place for our staff and customers to enjoy is always important. We hope our staff gets you just as excited about what they serve you as much as we enjoy them ourselves.

your local roaster

With our coffees, we have always believed we should offer better across the board, rather than only a niche few coffees that only "specialty coffee" people know about. We are about introducing the community to the coffee world we all know and love. We do this by sourcing great coffees, even down to our blends or for your everyday cup of joe. 

We strive not just for freshness or good coffee, but quality coffee and service. From the coffee we choose to highlight at our shops, to the concoctions of drinks our baristas create, we always make sure it is something we ourselves can enjoy. We love people, coffee, and the communities that we serve.

Ultimately, we believe the impossible is possible and aim to grow everyday with our team, coffee, and vision here at Lucky's. It's an ever-growing process that we are here for, and we are happy to share it with the world.