By Juan Jocom

An amalgamation of a classic coffee shop with a shopping experience you’d typically find in Latino mercados, Bonito Café y Mercadito, is preparing to open on E Olive Way, neighboring Capitol Hill’s Pie Bar and Donna’s.

It will soon serve locally Latino-grown sourced coffee and will be hosting mercado events featuring Latino vendors.

From photographers to monthly hosts of Aqui Mercado in Pioneer Square, couple Daniel and Ismael Calderon, are soon to open their dream business that was inspired last year after they hosted their first mercado event. Over the past months hosting their mercado, they were able to build a community of hundreds of supporters and fans.

It was never the plan to open a cafe-market hybrid store. However, after positive feedback from the Latino and queer community from their mercado, the couple decided to pursue opening the business that captures the vibrancy of their monthly event into a daily experience.

“The Mercadito part pays homage to our roots of Aqui Mercado,” Ismael said, ”within our cafe obviously we’re going to sell coffee, but our focus is helping BIPOC small businesses to have an opportunity to showcase their product and talents in a storefront environment.”

California natives, the couple made the move to Seattle six years ago to find a place where they can feel that they can be their own selves, however, leaving home means leaving a part of their cultural identity.

“That’s one piece in Seattle that we’ve always felt is missing for us personally – The sense of home when it comes to our community,” Daniel said.

Bonito Café y Mercadito aims to serve a well curated menu. They will be sourcing their ingredients with local businesses and suppliers. They’ve partnered with Selva Central Goods for artisanal pastries, while Fulcrum Coffee Roasters, a Latino and LGBTQ-owned business, will be their primary source for coffee beans.

But their push for inclusivity doesn’t end there. The couple shared how they plan to showcase dishes from different Latino communities.

“We wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just Mexico. One of our items is going to be Salvadoran to highlight different Latin American backgrounds,” Daniel said.

The couple says they initially struggled to distinguish Bonito from the array of cafes in Capitol Hill, but eventually they said they were able to find this answer through the community from their past mercados.

“You walk in as someone solo and you’ll leave with friends, and that’s one of the big things that we talked about on this last market… we did make it a purpose to ask ‘are you meeting people? Are you making friends? we go around the room and we engage with everyone,” Daniel said.

There is also the aspect of integrating Latino music in the space. The Calderons promised that, apart from the conversation, you’ll be dancing with other people.

“Are we in this to change the coffee game? Absolutely not. For us it’s more important to provide a safe space and provide a space that shows inclusivity and also gives you a taste of our backgrounds and our roots,” Daniel said.

As a two person team with no prior background with running a business, the couple shared how humbling the experience was with asking the Capitol Hill community for support.

They started a Kickstarter campaign to help ease the financial challenges of starting a business, and have met their goals through donations from the community.

“We went the Kickstarter route because we wanted someone to get something tangible for showing their support and love,” Ismael said.

They have also partnered with the city’s Office of Economic Development to address some of the issues they have encountered with opening up a new business over the E Olive Way.

“That corner has been empty for two years. It’s been graffitied down to the windows and everything. Basically [we’re] relying on the city to kind of help out. We were trying to remove all of it and then the next day it was graffitied again,” Daniel said.

There’s also the financial challenges they face during the initial funding for the business. They have multiple personal loans declined, and have gotten high APR rates.

”One of the loan officers said ‘Why would you take the step if there was so much to lose?’ And I was like because there’s so much to lose,” Daniel said. He says the significance of their business for the community is at the core of the effort. “The big, big thing for us is like creating that safe space… if there’s something that you feel is missing from your community and you feel strongly enough, then do it.”

Another obstacle that they were able to lep over was going up against 15 other applicants for the space, most recently home to a Glasswing plant shop but once home to John John’s Gameroom. With a clear goal and passion, they ultimately won over the property owner.

“We were sitting at Cal Anderson Park and he called,” Ismael said, “After a week of deliberation, he came back to us, and told us, ‘I like what you’re doing. you guys are passionate and you know where you’re going.’”

If their permits and pending business inspections go well, the couple said that they’re looking into opening by late April or early May.

Bonito Cafe y Mercadito will open soon at 1351 E Olive Way. Follow @bonito______________ for updates.

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