Humans of Cranston is a recurring column showcasing the stories of Cranston community members’ community involvement, diversity, and unique life perspectives.

Andrea Moreno is the owner of Cafe Ava, a Latin coffee shop in Rolfe Square named after her young daughter.

I’m not from Cranston, Rhode Island, but I’ve lived here since I came to Johnson and Wales. My husband is from Cranston; he grew up here his whole life, but I really saw, being from New York, a need in the Cranston community for more Latin representation. Like, people didn’t really have access to not just the culture but our foods ... so the whole project behind [Cafe Ava] was just to expose our culture and allow people the opportunity to get to try our things ... like, it’s okay you don’t know Spanish, or it’s okay if you don’t know certain things, but this is the vessel to create that opportunity for people, so that was the vision behind this.

I went [to school] for Hospitality Management, but all of my sorority sisters were in the culinary industry, so I just always had a passion for it, always tried it. And then, my mom was always passionate for cooking and baking, so she actually does all the baking and pastry here, as well. So, it was a combination of both, like I always knew the front side of it. I graduated, I got a management position in Upstate New York, so my kind of goal in everything was hospitality and that aspect of it, which is super important to me and what I want everyone here to portray, and then my mom was more of the culinary aspect, and my husband is just, like, he’s a beast. Like, any business, he just figures it out. I couldn’t have all the paperwork, all that stuff, as a first-generation Latina – I didn’t have anyone to ask those questions to, so it was a lot of breaking barriers, but he figured it out. He knew how to do all that kind of stuff.

At first, I’m not gonna lie, it was little bit challenging, because it’s not like people weren’t coming in, but the minute we started, we probably got more customers than we could actually handle because people were so excited about the concept. But in the beginning, this was different, and nobody was used to that, so, it’s not that [a lot of] people were giving pushback, but certain people would be like, “what? You don’t have English muffins?” and it’s like, no I don’t. It’s not that we can’t, it’s more of like, I’m sticking to the roots of what this business was built on, and so there was some pushback on us not having basic things that any other coffee shop may or may not have, which is fine, but I really, really wanted to stick to that authenticity of, “what do we eat in the morning?” because it’s not an English muffin.

We have a cook that helps us create everything, but the entire menu is just kind of [my husband’s and my] vision, like what we envision breakfast sandwiches being in the morning. Like, it hits home, but it’s in a breakfast sandwich, if that makes sense, and then, the drinks are the same, my husband and me, but mostly me; he just likes to get some credit. A lot of the baristas give me input too, which is really nice, but the pastries and all that, like the craft behind that is my mom, 1000%. Our arepa is one of our most popular food items on the menu. It’s basically like a tortilla, but it’s made out of corn instead of flour, and they’re super gooey, super good. Like, that’s her recipe and I think that’s one of the stars of the show, to be honest, on the food menu.

[Naming the cafe after our daughter] is more of a representation of a first-generation Latin girl. Like, the reason that I named it after her is that I want that representation of a girl like me! But this time, she has a different opportunity, because as silly as it is, I didn’t have people to ask those questions to, because my mom immigrated from Guatemala when she was really young, so I kind of had to figure everything out on my own. She represents the new generation of kids who will have Latino parents who can guide them and can write an essay with them and can give them expectations and information about businesses. So, that’s why I made her the face of it.

I’m just really grateful for every person that walks in here, because they’re really supporting a movement, y’know. ... I think we have something really special, really unique, and really powerful here, and I think we’re making an impact on the community. Like, with every sip, with every pastry, it’s tiny little details, but people feel special, like they feel like they’re entering something – I don’t know, I feel like people always have a great experience. It’s been very rare times, and I say that not to boast, that people have contacted me and been like, “oh, I’ve had a terrible experience,” or like, somebody didn’t feel right, or they didn’t like something. ... I deal with social media on the account, and I look at the pages and I’m like, wow, like, so many people are like, “best coffee in Rhode Island! Best coffee in Cranston!” and I’m like, these people are really feeling this. Like, I only say that about restaurants when I really feel that way, y’know? So, it’s just so nice to have so much support, especially from women. Like, it’s a weird time and I feel like women aren’t so supportive of other women, but I feel like we’re really building something here where women are just like, “one for you, one for me.” I just feel like I’ve created a really good community of women here. It’s in my works to eventually have a – I don’t know what to name it – but I want to create a network for women where you can learn from other women, you can network with other women, you can support other woman businesses. I just want to create something with this in the long run, because I really think it’s a safe space for women, and I feel that with the way that women contact me all the time.

The second season of this project has been made possible by the Rhode Island Department of Health and the efforts of the OneCranston Health Equity Zone of Comprehensive Community Action, Inc. in partnership with the Cranston Herald and Timothy McFate. The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Humans of Cranston participants do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the aforementioned parties. The presented stories are voluntarily provided, unpaid, and given verbatim except for correcting grammatical errors.  

Want to nominate a Cranston resident to be featured? Email JB at jfulbright@comcap.org.