Selina Barajas remembers attending UA,
looking for a spot to enjoy coffee and community. She resorted to driving 30
minutes outside of southwest Tucson to find an indie coffee shop.
Next spring, 16 years later, Barajas and her husband will add to the South
Tucson coffee landscape with Luna y Sol Café. Inspired by Barajas’ children,
the shop will be one of the city’s only Latino-owned sit-down coffeeshops.
The space will highlight coffee blends with Latin American roots. BIPOC artists
and businesses will be celebrated, and a community bird sanctuary will provide
ambiance.
“My husband and I lived in Los Angeles for a decade after grad school,” Barajas
said. “And in Inglewood, there are a couple of Black-owned coffeeshops. That
really kind of brought this awareness for me, personally, that there was a lack
of culturally relatable, locally owned coffee shops, with a vibe that really
represented us in Tucson.”
According to data from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic
businesses and firms make up just 21% of the businesses in Arizona, while
Hispanic people make up 32% of the population of Arizona according to data from
the U.S. Census Bureau.
Creating the business was intimidating for Barajas, a freelancer who hadn’t
operated a commercial development of this scale before. Barajas is securing
grants, such as the Elevate Together Small Business Grant, to make her project
come to life. In March, Barajas was nominated for the Women’s Net Food &
Beverage Grant, a $25,000 award that Barajas said she feels would help
transform her small cafe into the center of community.
“Our project is fully self-funded.” Barajas said. “We don’t have an investor or
the funds that big scale developers have. But that’s why our journey is so
special and that’s why these grants we’ve secured mean so much.”
Additionally, acquiring and redesigning the space for Luna y Sol has been a
struggle.
“This building is about 50 years old, so we had to get everything up to code.”
Barajas explained. “We’ve updated the plumbing, the electricity, everything to
get it ready to open.”
In starting the business, Barajas felt it was important to incorporate BIPOC
businesses and people into the process.
“If you look historically, the people growing coffee are folks of color,”
Barajas said. “You know, it’s from the lands of Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia,
Brazil. So, it was important to me to actually fly out to North Carolina to
meet our roasters and get connected with people who stand what we stand for.”
Barajas worked closely with Curated Coffee Consulting to find a roaster who
create a diverse and inclusive coffee space. Tarra Samuelson, owner of Curated
Coffee Consulting, introduced Barajas to Little Waves Coffee Roasters, a
Latina-owned coffee roasting company.
Arrianna Bianes, a Mexican American student who attends the UA, is looking
forward to visiting the cafe.
“Having a Latino-owned coffee shop reflects Tucson’s diverse culture and
heritage,” Bianes said. “Businesses should reflect and support the population
who live there.”
Another Hispanic UA student, Kaitlyn Avitia, is looking forward to Luna y Sol’s
opening.
“Supporting minority-owned businesses is important to me as a Latina woman,”
Avitia said. “And I love finding new coffee shops near campus.”
Barajas hopes this space does become a center for the community and that Latino
and other BIPOC people in Tucson feel seen.
“Coffee and conversation go hand in hand.” Barajas said. “I’m excited to
provide the opportunity for folks to see a little piece of their story in our
story. It’s that safe space we are hoping to create here, not just for us, but
for the community to have access to.”
Selina Barajas remembers attending UA,
looking for a spot to enjoy coffee and community. She resorted to driving 30
minutes outside of southwest Tucson to find an indie coffee shop.
Next spring, 16 years later, Barajas and her husband will add to the South
Tucson coffee landscape with Luna y Sol Café. Inspired by Barajas’ children,
the shop will be one of the city’s only Latino-owned sit-down coffeeshops.
The space will highlight coffee blends with Latin American roots. BIPOC artists
and businesses will be celebrated, and a community bird sanctuary will provide
ambiance.
“My husband and I lived in Los Angeles for a decade after grad school,” Barajas
said. “And in Inglewood, there are a couple of Black-owned coffeeshops. That
really kind of brought this awareness for me, personally, that there was a lack
of culturally relatable, locally owned coffee shops, with a vibe that really
represented us in Tucson.”
According to data from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic
businesses and firms make up just 21% of the businesses in Arizona, while
Hispanic people make up 32% of the population of Arizona according to data from
the U.S. Census Bureau.
Creating the business was intimidating for Barajas, a freelancer who hadn’t
operated a commercial development of this scale before. Barajas is securing
grants, such as the Elevate Together Small Business Grant, to make her project
come to life. In March, Barajas was nominated for the Women’s Net Food &
Beverage Grant, a $25,000 award that Barajas said she feels would help
transform her small cafe into the center of community.
“Our project is fully self-funded.” Barajas said. “We don’t have an investor or
the funds that big scale developers have. But that’s why our journey is so
special and that’s why these grants we’ve secured mean so much.”
Additionally, acquiring and redesigning the space for Luna y Sol has been a
struggle.
“This building is about 50 years old, so we had to get everything up to code.”
Barajas explained. “We’ve updated the plumbing, the electricity, everything to
get it ready to open.”
In starting the business, Barajas felt it was important to incorporate BIPOC
businesses and people into the process.
“If you look historically, the people growing coffee are folks of color,”
Barajas said. “You know, it’s from the lands of Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia,
Brazil. So, it was important to me to actually fly out to North Carolina to
meet our roasters and get connected with people who stand what we stand for.”
Barajas worked closely with Curated Coffee Consulting to find a roaster who
create a diverse and inclusive coffee space. Tarra Samuelson, owner of Curated
Coffee Consulting, introduced Barajas to Little Waves Coffee Roasters, a
Latina-owned coffee roasting company.
Arrianna Bianes, a Mexican American student who attends the UA, is looking
forward to visiting the cafe.
“Having a Latino-owned coffee shop reflects Tucson’s diverse culture and
heritage,” Bianes said. “Businesses should reflect and support the population
who live there.”
Another Hispanic UA student, Kaitlyn Avitia, is looking forward to Luna y Sol’s
opening.
“Supporting minority-owned businesses is important to me as a Latina woman,”
Avitia said. “And I love finding new coffee shops near campus.”
Barajas hopes this space does become a center for the community and that Latino
and other BIPOC people in Tucson feel seen.
“Coffee and conversation go hand in hand.” Barajas said. “I’m excited to
provide the opportunity for folks to see a little piece of their story in our
story. It’s that safe space we are hoping to create here, not just for us, but
for the community to have access to.”
Luna y Sol Cafe
137 W. 29th Street, Tucson
www.lunaysolcafe.com
