Cafe con Leche opens pop-up shop in Lafayette Park

Fans of Cafe Con Leche, the signature coffee shop in Southwest Detroit, now have an option on the Motor City's east side called Cafe con Leche de Este.

Cafe con Leche opened a couple of years ago in Mexicantown area of the city, eventually ending up in a marquee space at the corner of West Vernor Avenue and Scotten Street overlooking Clark Park in Hubbard Farms. It has since established itself as a go-to cafe for the laptop class on the city's Southwest side.

"We were looking for a neighborhood that has the same type of community," says Jordi Carbonell, who co-owns Cafe con Leche with his wife Melissa Fernadez. "Lafayette Park has that feel."

Cafe con Leche del Este is a pop-up, i.e. temporary, cafe in Lafayette Park. Carbonell expects to keep the cafe at 1561 Lafayette, in the Lafayette Park strip mall, for the next month. Five people currently work at the place and Carbonell hopes to turn the new location into a permanent space if the pop-up can demonstrate it has enough support from the community.

Cafe con Leche del Este is a product of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp's new REVOLVE retail development program, which also received an assist from the Jefferson East Business Association. The REVOLVE program has helped create pop-up retail spaces in the Motor City, including a couple of spots in West Village.

Source: Jordi Carbonell, co-owner of Cafe con Leche
Writer: Jon Zemke

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