i'd set it up as your coffee center and be done with it. use the 'normal' counter for normal prep area. anything you do to half-fix it will make it look worse, easier and better looking to just repurpose it.

(or pay $800 for the new cabinet and really fix it once and for all).

Well, the best solution is to just spend the $800 to have a matching cabinet put in its place. Would you save any extra if you installed it yourself?

A beverage space is great if that is what you really want or need. If you've always wanted that then by all means go for it, but if you're just trying to find some way to fill the space then it's a waste of money.

Another cheaper suggestion is to rip that out and build a lower bookcase to store cookbooks or decorative platters/bowls. It would be relatively easy to do yourself with plywood and trim pieces and you can still run your new countertop right over it.

I'd like to see a pic of the entire kitchen.

My useless kitchen desk is going away too. Actually, I'm also replacing my countertop and fortunately this idea can to me before the counters got underway. The desk is at the right end of a bank of lowers much like yours only without the wall on the right side. I'm going to take off the counter from the desk, beef up the other end by sistering a 1/2" piece of plywood to the right side to get it up to the same height as the counters, and convert that space into a trash drawer on one side with the rest of the space as a divided cabinet for my cookie sheets and baking pans. In a nutshell I'm going to make that space into a lower cabinet. It will give me some much needed counter space and free up valuable real estate in my kitchen by getting rid of the trash can that is currently in a walkway between the kitchen and the dining space. I'll save even more money when I make my own trash drawer based on this tutorial.

I considered a pantry but since there is a long bank of connected uppers already there and I don't want to spend the money to replace them I decided to claim the counter space and get rid of the trashcan :-) It will cost way more to replace the large bank of uppers with a smaller bank plus a pantry. Also counter space is severely lacking in my kitchen, hence the uselessness of that desk. It is long overdue elimination.

I even bought a Kreg jig today. I've been wanting one for the longest time so now that I have project that NEEDS to be done it was time. I'll use it to reconstruct the current desk drawer space when I raise it up to counter height above the trash cabinet/baking pan cabinet. I also plan to enlarge that drawer since it will now have room to be deeper. The goal is to eliminate catch-alls and to get counter space...counter space...counter space!!!!

Your idea of adding a beverage fridge there is great! You have face front cabinets like I do, so just make sure you match the fascia with what is one the left side. Since you have a wall on the right yours will be much easier to convert if you screw a support into the studs on the right to hold up your counter, or use a piece of wood to support it from the floor. After that I would think you would want to make a face piece to match the side against the left wall that will also cover your support, however you decide to do it. As you demo the desk, look at the construction for your desk and replicate that with larger dimensions to match your lowers. Good luck to both of us!