A new cafe featuring coffees roasted in house and international street food will open soon in Houston. Las Perras Cafe owner Andrea Arana signed the lease for the space at 1005 Hogan St. back in March, but delays have pushed back the opening.
“We took all summer to do pop-ups,” Arana told What Now Houston. Las Perras Cafe has also served some menu creations at a local farmers’ market. Arana plans to visit the brick-and-mortar on Friday and will soon begin renovating the space with a possible opening by the end of 2022 or in early 2023.
The Las Perras Cafe coffee program will feature specialty drinks named after people in pop culture or who have inspired and impacted the community. For example, The Angela Davis is an Ethiopian cold brew with jasmine syrup and grapefruit bitters. Some other specialty coffee drinks include The Dolores Huerta and The Dolly Parten.
“The food program is inspired by international street food. I grew up all over the world. My father was in the Navy, so I’m inspired by street food from all across the world.” Some savory items will include Latin foods such as empanadas, but Las Perras Cafe will also serve sandwiches that incorporate Japanese milk bread.
Arana’s background is in hotels and restaurants. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a very long time. I know this is going to do very well just because I’ve already gotten such a great response from the community. I have a lot of really amazing people that are already working with me to make this project successful,” Arana said.
Arana wants Las Perras Cafe to be a comfortable space for people to enjoy a cup of coffee and international flavors. “I want it back to the way that you felt when you would go into a coffee shop, and you feel like you’re in the extension of your home, just really bring a Mexican flare to it—a coffee shop that you would find in Mexico City but still very homey,” Arana said.
Arana is working on the Las Perras Cafe website and plans to sell and ship coffee beans that have been roasted in house. Customers can also grab a bag when they’re in the storefront. Arana plans to sell local products from bakeries and other local businesses such as jewelry.
She also plans to collaborate with a local beauty store to create coffee ground body scrubs and handmade soaps. “We want to basically do everything we can to reduce impact on the environment. Coffee grounds have lots of benefits to numerous parts of your house and your body, so we want to make sure we’re taking advantage of that.”
