New Latin American coffee shop in KC serves drinks mixed with spices, honey, heritage

This Latin American coffee shop is so new, only a small A-frame sign in the doorway points the way.

Cafe Ollama, on the west boundary of the Crossroads Arts District at 523 Southwest Blvd., is a place where the owners can “share our culture.” Both of their parents immigrated from Mexico.

Native Kansas Citians, Lesley Reyes and Francisco Murguia have been together for a dozen years, married for six. They spent a few years in Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix, cities with a “strong Latino culture, representation and presence” that they wanted to bring back home, Reyes said.

Her mother had long owned the building on Southwest Boulevard. Most recently it was a bus stop for riders heading to Mexico and back. But when the pandemic hit a year ago, that operation quickly shut down.

“I swooped in. If it’s not now, then when?” she said. “We’re extremely excited.”

So the pandemic has offered an opportunity, but also a lesson in patience, something they’ve already been learning as parents of a 2-year-old son. They spent the last few months restoring the space, decorating with pieces from their families’ former restaurants, as well as from their living rooms, and waiting for the marketplace to open up again.

They import most ingredients from Latin American countries. Ollama (pronounced “oh-YA-ma”) is named for a game played centuries ago in Latin America.

A week after opening, the most common order is Cafe de Olla. They describe it as a drink popular in rural areas of Mexico, very traditional — slow-brewed coffee with cinnamon, unrefined whole cane sugar, and other spices. Customers also can get it topped off with a salted sweet foam.

Four of the drinks are named after their grandmothers, including the Mama Ines (espresso with sweetened condensed milk) named after Reyes’ “sweet” maternal grandmother. Murguia’s paternal grandmother is behind their Mami Gloria (with three shots of espresso and Mexican Coca-Cola) because she always seems to have a Coca-Cola at hand.

His parents met at El Tapatio Restaurant, owned and operated by his late maternal grandmother just a few blocks from the new coffee shop. His uncle had a restaurant just to the west on Southwest Boulevard, where Murguia got his first job busing tables when he was in middle school.

“I’m a child of the neighborhood,” he said.

Some of Cafe Ollama’s paintings come from his aunts’ former Mexican restaurant on Truman Road.

While the Cafe de Olla is the current best-seller, they expect the CDMX Smog to perhaps take the lead.

The drink is a nod to his former British co-workers (when he coached at a soccer academy in the Phoenix area) and their favorite London Fog drink. Murguia named his drink the CDMX Smog — an abbreviation for Mexico City, which is prone to smog. He uses chamomile tea instead of Earl Grey, an orange slice and coffee topped with foam.

Drinks are $3.50 for 8 ounces, $4 for 12 ounces, and $5 for 16 ounces.

The menu includes a glossary for such terms as canela (cinnamon) and miel (honey). Cafe Ollama also offers milk options and Mexican sodas.

Hours are currently 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

A grand opening is planned for May.

This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.