Friendsgiving & Private Holiday Party Venue in La Mesa
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Brick + Laurel is a private warehouse event venue at 5171 Guild St in La Mesa, CA, in East County San Diego. It hosts Friendsgiving dinners, family holiday gatherings and small company holiday parties for 15 to 50 guests. The whole space is yours for the event: whitewashed exposed brick, natural light, a bar area, a chalkboard welcome table and a flexible vendor policy that lets you hire a caterer or bring home-cooked, potluck-style food and your own beer and wine. Groups can add a hosted coffee experience with live roasting and tasting from the owner's roastery, Common Good Coffee Roasters.
The space and layout
Brick + Laurel is one open warehouse room with whitewashed shiplap and exposed brick walls with natural light, so it feels warm by day and glows at night with candles and string lights. The bar area anchors one side of the room as a drinks, cider or coffee station. The chalkboard welcome table greets guests at the door with your menu, a gratitude prompt or a seating chart. Because you rent the whole venue, there's no shared dining room, no second party and no one waiting for your table.
Capacity and seating ideas
15–24 guests: one long family-style Friendsgiving table down the center of the room, with a side buffet for potluck-style serving.
25–40 guests: two parallel long tables or a U-shape, with the bar area as the drinks and dessert station.
40–50 guests: cocktail-style holiday party with satellite tables stationed around the room and a lounge seating, heavy appetizers, and a toast at the chalkboard.
What's included
Private use of the full space for your booked time
Bar area and chalkboard welcome table
Bluetooth speaker
Access to Brick + Laurel's preferred vendor list
Sample timeline for an evening Friendsgiving (5pm–11p)
5:00 pm: your setup begins (decor, table settings, chalkboard menu)
6:30 pm: guests arrive, with drinks at the bar area and appetizers
7:15 pm: gratitude toast at the chalkboard, then family-style dinner
8:30 pm: dessert course, or the hosted coffee roast and tasting
9:30 pm: games, photos and leftovers packed up
11:00 pm: party wraps (events can run until midnight)
Daytime (8am–4pm) rentals suit Friendsgiving brunches and weekday company lunches. All rentals have a 4-hour minimum.
Vendor and catering policy
Brick + Laurel keeps a flexible vendor policy. Hire the caterer, baker, florist or bartender you prefer, or bring your own home-cooked, potluck-style food. You're also welcome to bring your own beverages, including beer and wine. Vendors working on site just add Brick + Laurel as an additional insured: no cost to the vendor, just a simple email. You can also choose from our preferred vendors.
Coffee experience add-on
Make the coffee course the highlight. The owner's roastery, Common Good Coffee Roasters, hosts a live roasting demonstration and guided tasting right in the venue. Guests watch the beans crack, smell the roast and taste the result: a memorable icebreaker or start to a Friendsgiving meal and an interactive moment for a team holiday party. See the Private Coffee Experience. The coffee experience is a 2-hour, $698 add-on to the 4-hour rental minimum. For example: the 2-hour coffee experience ($698) plus 2 more rental hours at $149/hour, for 4 hours total.
Location, parking and nearby areas served
Brick + Laurel, 5171 Guild St, La Mesa, CA, East County San Diego. Parking details: brickandlaurel.com/parking. Ample free public parking is available throughout the area. Holiday hosts come from La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, Mission Valley and central San Diego.
Pricing guidance
Rates for hourly, full-day and add-on rentals are on our pricing page. Weekday discounts are available on request, which is a smart option for company holiday parties. Rentals have a 4-hour minimum, and parties can run until midnight.
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Friendsgiving & holiday party FAQs
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Brick + Laurel hosts private Friendsgiving dinners and holiday parties for 15 to 50 guests. The warehouse space in La Mesa can be set as one long family-style table for a seated dinner or as a mingling layout around the bar area for a cocktail-style party.
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Brick + Laurel is at 5171 Guild St, La Mesa, CA, in East County San Diego. Ample free public parking is available throughout the area. Guests commonly come from La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and central San Diego.
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Yes. Guests can hire food vendors or bring their own home-cooked, potluck-style food. Vendors working on site simply add Brick + Laurel as an additional insured, which costs the vendor nothing and takes one email. You can also choose from the venue's preferred vendor list at brickandlaurel.com/san-diego-event-venue-preferred-vendors.
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Yes. Guests are welcome to bring their own beverages, including beer and wine. The venue's bar area works as a drinks station, hot cocoa bar or coffee bar during holiday parties.
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Friday and Saturday evenings in November and December are the first dates to go at small San Diego venues, so it is best to tour and hold a date in October. Weekday holiday parties are a good option for flexible groups, and Brick + Laurel offers weekday discounts on request.
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It is a 2-hour add-on led by the owner's roastery, Common Good Coffee Roasters: a live coffee roasting demonstration and guided tasting for your guests. The coffee experience is $698 and is added to the 4-hour rental minimum, so a typical booking is the 2-hour coffee experience plus 2 more rental hours at $149 per hour, for 4 hours total.
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Brick + Laurel has a 4-hour rental minimum. Current hourly rates, full-day rates and add-ons are listed at brickandlaurel.com/pricing. Parties can run until midnight, and weekday discounts are available on request.