A customer steps out of the blazing sun into a cafe for the perfect drink: an iced espresso, blood-orange ginger beer, topped with cinnamon.
This distinct and dreamy beverage, along with many other carefully curated options, is served out of a garage just two blocks from George Floyd Square in south Minneapolis.
The owners and creators of Cafecito House, Psawpaw Kasuh (aka PK) and Natalya Arevalo, are known for their pop-ups around the Twin Cities, from one held in a vintage clothing store, to Art-A-Whirl, to serving drinks in Minneapolis’ Chicago Fire Arts Center.
But at the end of each month, they focus on opening their garage cafe with a menu that changes regularly.
Arevalo’s garage is split into two spaces: one for the creation and ordering of drinks, and a room to the left to sit, sip and enjoy. The areas are connected by vintage bay doors. The cozy serving room, where people sit chatting and savoring their drinks, features art decor and a large tapestry bearing a variation of Cafecito’s logo.
In the bustling beverage-ordering space, the two owners practically dance together as they take orders and create the drinks.
Their pop-up event at the end of July drew a line of people that rounded the block, with many passers-by from the local community pulled in by the chatter and aroma.
“It’s so close, and I don’t usually drink coffee, but I’m here because it’s so creative, and I get to relax and support a small business that aligns with my values,” said Tri Vo, a community member and artist. ”And all the pop-ups have been really, really fun.”
Clay Man Soo, an actor who learned about Cafecito from Vo, agreed. “It’s incredible what they’re doing in their own small way. For places like this to exist, especially run and operated by women of color, it’s a way to sort of … fly over the system. Obviously, the community really wants and supports that.”
And, he added, “You don’t have to pay for alternative milk!”
Along with no additional charge for alternatives to milk, a big draw for many is the unique and ever-changing drink menu. Kasuh and Arevalo spend many hours creating a list of potential flavors and homemade syrups, then narrow it down and plan menus for each month.
Arevalo said their recent menu was created to represent the vibrant and playful feeling that comes with the peak of summer.
“In July, we had chosen a lemon basil syrup,” she said. “That one just felt super energetic, but also reminiscent of like, lemonade stands when you’re little. We also had a blackberry-honey-lavender [syrup]. It feels like evening, reminiscing of nighttime bonfires and the freshness and fruits and herbs that are growing.”
Along with attempting to paint scenes and capture moments in time with their drinks, both owners bring their own cultures to their recipes.
“We have a masala chai one that we’re thinking about, because my dad makes a lot of masala curries and it’s just really yummy and savory,” said Kasuh, whose family heritage is Karen.
Arevalo, from an Ecuadorian background, added: “I had said a matcha with a morocho — which is Ecuadorian, kind of similar to rice pudding — as cold foam would be so fire.”
The friends and business partners first came to the idea of Cafecito out of a hope to create a diverse workplace, along with a comforting environment to find community in. Both worked in the coffee industry before creating Cafecito House, and found that in some larger businesses, the owners were racist or mistreated their workers. Arevalo said they both wanted to work for themselves, as well as to create their own space, where they could be the “nice owners.”
Said Kasuh: “I had always dreamed of making my own coffee shop, and one time me and Nat were just hanging out, and I was talking about, ‘It’d be so fun to have a cafe,’ and Nat’s like, ‘We should do a cafe.’ Ever since then, it’s been snowballing.”
When they held their first pop-up in October 2024, the immediate support from their community blew them away. “We had a line the whole time,” Arevalo said. “Aside from our friends and family, a lot of it was just having neighbors coming. None of what we’re able to do would be possible without all the community that comes through.”
They had estimated that only 15 people would come to that pop-up, “so to think that we’ve served like, up to 150 cups at certain pop-ups is just crazy even to imagine,” Kasuh said. “We’ve literally been rolling with it and planning as we go, because so much of it is super unexpected.”
The two say that their working dynamic is a big reason why they’re able to run their business well. “Natalia has been very ambitious — it really helps that she has that drive,” said Kasuh. Arevalo added that “PK is just very steady, and I have a lot of peaks where I’m like, ‘OK, we gotta go, we gotta go,’ and she’s just grounding. I definitely appreciate being able to work together and trust one another with the whole process of planning, implementing and doing.”
The two were inspired by early 2000s coffeehouses and hoped to create a similar ambience. An excerpt from their website says they “created Cafecito to bring back that lived-in, cozy coffee shop experience … where time slows down, conversations last a little longer.”
A garage cafe was not part of the original plan, Arevalo said.
“Originally it was supposed to be, ‘Let’s have our friends come over once a month on Saturdays, make it fun.’ Then honestly, I think it was like … I don’t want people in my house,” she said, laughing. “Then we started thinking like, well, what if …?”
“It does not feel like work at all,” Kasuh said. “It feels like you’re just hanging out with your friend and you’re literally talking about what you want your dreams to look like, and you’re putting it out there and making it happen.”
A brick-and-mortar location is part of Cafecito’s five-year plan. The two would like to pair it with a bookshop.
“I feel like there’s not a lot of coffee places right now that are bookstore and coffee combined,” she said. “So if we can bring that together more, I think it would be super cute.”
Cafecito’s next garage pop-up will be held Aug. 24. To get updates on more future events and menus from Cafecito, check out its website or Instagram, @cafecitohouse_.
