At the new Las Perras Café in Houston. All images courtesy of Las Perras Café.
Cold brew, warm vibes and strong community spirit have surrounded the launch of a new Latina-owned coffee company in Houston called Las Perras Café, whose first brick-and-mortar cafe recently opened for business.
Since opening this past spring, the airy, plant-filled Second Ward shop has become both a vibrant social hub and a hotspot for Mexican-inspired treats and specialty coffee.
This duality was always the goal for founder Andrea Arana, who designed the cafe to look and feel like a Mexican living room — wholesome, cheerful and full of tradition — after launching a line of bottled cold brew products whose labels celebrate female change-makers including Dolores Huerta, Alice Valdez and Angela Davis.
“My space is a place for activism. My space is a place for women of color to feel safe,” Arana told Daily Coffee News. “It’s a place for the Latino community to feel seen and represented, and just a safe space for anybody.”
Las Perras Café Founder Andrea Arana on the mic.
The fall menu at Las Perras includes Las Tres Malcriadas, a beverage trio named after a Mexican telenovela featuring a pumpkin-cheesecake-flavored cold brew and cold brew lattes in apple pie and pumpkin pie flavors.
The Que Pasa Calabaza is the shop’s take on a pumpkin spice latte. Along with espresso-based drinks and an extensive matcha section, the permanent menu features beverages like the Colonchil, an aerated espresso shot mixed with elderflower and jasmine syrups, topped with peach oolong tea.
These drinks are prepared behind a 20-foot bar built from reclaimed, centuries-old Mexican mesquite wood by Arana’s father, Marco Arana, who runs a custom furniture business called Mexico Lindo in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The same wood was used for the shop’s large tables and chairs.
“When I go to other coffee shops, it definitely gives the vibe of like, ‘how can we fit as many chairs in here as possible,’ and obviously that makes economic sense. But my long-term goal is to turn my cafe into a furniture store and cafe,” said Arana. “We’d rather have really beautiful furniture even if maybe less people can sit in there, than just pack as many uncomfortable chairs into a tiny little space as possible.”
Originally from El Paso, Arana found her worldview broaden while attending high school in Japan. After years in corporate hospitality management and consulting, her Chicano heritage on her mother’s side and outspokenness on social issues motivated her pandemic-era pivot into coffee entrepreneurship.
Las Perras emerged with pop-ups at events and marketplaces, selling bottled RTD cold brew wrapped in labels designed with local artists. Local art now hangs on the walls of the 2,200-square-foot cafe, and Arana frequently collaborates with organizations on social, cultural and political initiatives.
“There’s a lot of coffee shops that are apolitical and prefer to not speak out on anything. During the pandemic, I just said, what if I tried to do the opposite of that?” said Arana. “[I sought to] see if people resonated with it and respected me more for being upfront about where I stand politically, as opposed to just using my culture as a marketing tool but not ever standing up for anything.”
Roasting for Las Perras recently expanded from an in-house Aillio Bullet machine to toll roasting services by Houston-based New Heights Coffee Roasters. Events alternate between fun and serious — with dance parties and culinary experiences alongside film screenings, readings and gatherings for political action.
As the shop’s one-year lease winds down, Arana is preparing to sign a new five-year lease while working with grant writers to raise funds for hosting community events that go beyond typical coffee shop offerings.
“I also really want to get raises and health benefits for my staff. Those are top of mind for next year and that’s really where we’re at. We’re still building,” said Arana. “I want to upgrade some things in the shop also, but I think if I’m taking care of my staff and continuing to serve my community, the money will follow.”
Las Perras Café is located at 3401 Harrisburg Blvd. in Houston.
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
