CULTURAL COFFEE SHOP OPENS
Owner wants to bring 'coffee and community' to Boulder Public Library
Taking the form of a pop of color overlooking Boulder Creek, a new coffee shop is settling into its home inside the Boulder Public Library.
Tonantzin Casa de Café opened at the beginning of the year in tandem with the library, which was shut down for several weeks due to methamphetamine contamination. The previous occupant, Seeds Library Cafe, closed over the course of the pandemic and created an opportunity for a different kind of cafe to take its place.
“We’re an indigenous- and Latin American-based coffee shop,” said owner Cynthia Diaz. “I think that Boulder needed this kind of space.”
Diaz, a University of Colorado Boulder alum, opened the original Tonantzin Casa de Café in Denver in 2021. Nestled in the city’s historically Hispanic Art District on Santa Fe, Diaz said she wanted to bring “coffee and community” to a creative space. Seeing the chance to do that for Boulder, Diaz was one of over a dozen contenders hoping to fill the library’s cafe vacancy.
“Our niche is bringing life to buildings that were kind of dormant during the pandemic,” Diaz said. “It was really exciting to know that (the Boulder Public Library) wanted us to be the ones to help with this vision.”
Boulder’s Tonantzin Casa de Café is open four days a week. Shop manager Macarena Schrodt said business has been good so far, even as the library’s bathrooms remain closed for cleaning. Originally from Chile and now a Berthoud resident, Schrodt sells her empanadas at the cafe alongside items like quesadillas and burritos. Customers
can also buy horchata lattes, drip coffee made with cinnamon and cloves or an iced lime-and-cucumber “agua fresca.”
“I want everything to involve our culture,” Schrodt said.
Schrodt believes one reason behind the coffee shop’s success in Boulder is its affordability, as the menu is priced the same as the Denver location. The shop also catches eyes with its bright pink decor and Latin music.
“People say, ‘I love the colors,’ or, ‘I love your music,’ Schrodt said. “Our coffee shop is different, and people love that.”
Schrodt has some help running the cafe, with periodic
visits from Diaz and an extra employee for the weekend. She said she’s working on hiring more staff and expanding the shop’s hours in preparation for the busier spring and summer seasons.
Diaz is also looking forward to the warmer months. As the cafe builds its customer base, she said she wants to connect with CU students and local artists to host music and dance events at Boulder Creek.
“When you move into a new house, you have to make it your home,” Diaz said. “I think we’re in the process of making this location our own home.”
Tonantzin Casa de Café is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays at the main branch of the Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave.