Popular Mexican coffee shop Con Azucar Café will expand to Sacramento

A new cafe inspired by Mexican culture is expected to open in downtown Sacramento by the end of the year.

Known for its enormous conchas and gigantic coffee cups, Con Azucar Café (which translates to "with sugar" in English) is a Hispanic-owned coffee chain that originated in San Jose. The cafe is expanding to Sacramento and will open its newest location in the Downtown Commons shopping center on 7th and K streets.

Con Azucar Café has one location in Nebraska and four others across California, many of which are in the Bay Area. Alan Jimenez owns the forthcoming Sacramento cafe and said he thought his hometown would be the perfect place to expand. 

“I wanted to bring it to the heart of Sacramento,” Jimenez said of why he chose to open the cafe at DOCO. “I just know the type of foot traffic, the car traffic, and the impact this community has … That's the fun part: Collaborating hopefully with the Kings, Sacramento Republic, the A's, and all these run clubs, you name it. There's so many things happening here and we want to be a part of it.”

The cafe will serve authentic cafe de olla (a traditional Mexican coffee brewed in a clay pot) in addition to drinks flavored with Mexican candy, avocado toast, tortas, grilled cheese and pastries. Customers will also be able to order giant conchas, which have gone viral on Instagram and are served alongside a huge coffee cup.

Jimenez said the interior of the cafe will include a swing, an artificial tree and a decent number of murals, in addition to decor that references Latino culture.

“We always try to invite people in,” Jimenez said. “We want you to come to the carne asada. We want you to come to the quinceañeras. We want people to feel welcome even though they're not Hispanic. So this is a little sliver of us providing a welcoming spot and inviting people into the culture and into the flavors of Mexican heritage. And they're going to truly feel it aesthetically, but also with the food that we will offer too, which is many specialty drinks and coffee.”

Andrew LaFrance, the business development manager for Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said he’s excited to see something unique that's regional to Northern California branch out into Sacramento.

“It's a pretty close walking distance to Capitol Mall, where a lot of our office tenants go to work every day,” LaFrance said. “I think folks walking by for a game or for a show at the Golden 1 Center, they're going to see Con Azucar Café and see something new and exciting. I think a lot of folks will be excited to try something new and different within downtown.”

Sacramento cafe owner goes from cubicle to cafe

Cafe owner Jimenez was born in Los Angeles but grew up in North Highlands. Before he decided to open Cafe Azucar, he worked a corporate job for years before he was unexpectedly let go. After he lost his job, Jimenez said he wanted to do something on his own.

Jimenez reached out to his cousin, who is part of an ownership group of Con Azucar Cafes in San Jose and Bakersfield. It was then he realized he could open a cafe of his own, and he set off on an almost two year long journey to research and save money. 

“Once I gathered enough capital, I spoke with my cousin again and pretty much diverted to this concept,” Jimenez said. “This was a fresh thing. It was moving a lot. There was a lot of attraction on social media, and it was something different here in Sacramento.”

Arturo Arias, a Sacramento native and close friend of Jimenez, will be the general manager of Con Azucar when it opens. Arias said he loves seeing the community's excitement about the cafe's opening.

“It’s just really exciting to see that and having that community engagement,” Arias said. “I know me and Alan are big on that — trying to bring the community together [and] show that Hispanic culture to that local area.”

Jimenez said he hopes Con Azucar can be a place where he can connect with the community and provide a safe space for events and clubs.

“If it involves a community, for me, it's a no-brainer,” Jimenez said. “I want to create another option for other people that want to have those safe spaces to work and feel like they can have a coffee and conversation with someone, or hold an event, for an hour or two, if not longer. That's something that we would definitely want to house for sure.”