Indie coffee shop coming to Tucson next year

Selina Barajas remembers attending UA, looking for a spot to enjoy coffee and community. She resorted to driving 30 minutes outside of southwest Tucson to find an indie coffee shop.
Next spring, 16 years later, Barajas and her husband will add to the South Tucson coffee landscape with Luna y Sol Café. Inspired by Barajas’ children, the shop will be one of the city’s only Latino-owned sit-down coffeeshops.
The space will highlight coffee blends with Latin American roots. BIPOC artists and businesses will be celebrated, and a community bird sanctuary will provide ambiance.
“My husband and I lived in Los Angeles for a decade after grad school,” Barajas said. “And in Inglewood, there are a couple of Black-owned coffeeshops. That really kind of brought this awareness for me, personally, that there was a lack of culturally relatable, locally owned coffee shops, with a vibe that really represented us in Tucson.”
According to data from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic businesses and firms make up just 21% of the businesses in Arizona, while Hispanic people make up 32% of the population of Arizona according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Creating the business was intimidating for Barajas, a freelancer who hadn’t operated a commercial development of this scale before. Barajas is securing grants, such as the Elevate Together Small Business Grant, to make her project come to life. In March, Barajas was nominated for the Women’s Net Food & Beverage Grant, a $25,000 award that Barajas said she feels would help transform her small cafe into the center of community.
“Our project is fully self-funded.” Barajas said. “We don’t have an investor or the funds that big scale developers have. But that’s why our journey is so special and that’s why these grants we’ve secured mean so much.”
Additionally, acquiring and redesigning the space for Luna y Sol has been a struggle.
“This building is about 50 years old, so we had to get everything up to code.” Barajas explained. “We’ve updated the plumbing, the electricity, everything to get it ready to open.”
In starting the business, Barajas felt it was important to incorporate BIPOC businesses and people into the process.
“If you look historically, the people growing coffee are folks of color,” Barajas said. “You know, it’s from the lands of Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia, Brazil. So, it was important to me to actually fly out to North Carolina to meet our roasters and get connected with people who stand what we stand for.”
Barajas worked closely with Curated Coffee Consulting to find a roaster who create a diverse and inclusive coffee space. Tarra Samuelson, owner of Curated Coffee Consulting, introduced Barajas to Little Waves Coffee Roasters, a Latina-owned coffee roasting company.
Arrianna Bianes, a Mexican American student who attends the UA, is looking forward to visiting the cafe.
“Having a Latino-owned coffee shop reflects Tucson’s diverse culture and heritage,” Bianes said. “Businesses should reflect and support the population who live there.”
Another Hispanic UA student, Kaitlyn Avitia, is looking forward to Luna y Sol’s opening.
“Supporting minority-owned businesses is important to me as a Latina woman,” Avitia said. “And I love finding new coffee shops near campus.”
Barajas hopes this space does become a center for the community and that Latino and other BIPOC people in Tucson feel seen.
“Coffee and conversation go hand in hand.” Barajas said. “I’m excited to provide the opportunity for folks to see a little piece of their story in our story. It’s that safe space we are hoping to create here, not just for us, but for the community to have access to.”

Selina Barajas remembers attending UA, looking for a spot to enjoy coffee and community. She resorted to driving 30 minutes outside of southwest Tucson to find an indie coffee shop.
Next spring, 16 years later, Barajas and her husband will add to the South Tucson coffee landscape with Luna y Sol Café. Inspired by Barajas’ children, the shop will be one of the city’s only Latino-owned sit-down coffeeshops.
The space will highlight coffee blends with Latin American roots. BIPOC artists and businesses will be celebrated, and a community bird sanctuary will provide ambiance.
“My husband and I lived in Los Angeles for a decade after grad school,” Barajas said. “And in Inglewood, there are a couple of Black-owned coffeeshops. That really kind of brought this awareness for me, personally, that there was a lack of culturally relatable, locally owned coffee shops, with a vibe that really represented us in Tucson.”
According to data from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic businesses and firms make up just 21% of the businesses in Arizona, while Hispanic people make up 32% of the population of Arizona according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Creating the business was intimidating for Barajas, a freelancer who hadn’t operated a commercial development of this scale before. Barajas is securing grants, such as the Elevate Together Small Business Grant, to make her project come to life. In March, Barajas was nominated for the Women’s Net Food & Beverage Grant, a $25,000 award that Barajas said she feels would help transform her small cafe into the center of community.
“Our project is fully self-funded.” Barajas said. “We don’t have an investor or the funds that big scale developers have. But that’s why our journey is so special and that’s why these grants we’ve secured mean so much.”
Additionally, acquiring and redesigning the space for Luna y Sol has been a struggle.
“This building is about 50 years old, so we had to get everything up to code.” Barajas explained. “We’ve updated the plumbing, the electricity, everything to get it ready to open.”
In starting the business, Barajas felt it was important to incorporate BIPOC businesses and people into the process.
“If you look historically, the people growing coffee are folks of color,” Barajas said. “You know, it’s from the lands of Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia, Brazil. So, it was important to me to actually fly out to North Carolina to meet our roasters and get connected with people who stand what we stand for.”
Barajas worked closely with Curated Coffee Consulting to find a roaster who create a diverse and inclusive coffee space. Tarra Samuelson, owner of Curated Coffee Consulting, introduced Barajas to Little Waves Coffee Roasters, a Latina-owned coffee roasting company.
Arrianna Bianes, a Mexican American student who attends the UA, is looking forward to visiting the cafe.
“Having a Latino-owned coffee shop reflects Tucson’s diverse culture and heritage,” Bianes said. “Businesses should reflect and support the population who live there.”
Another Hispanic UA student, Kaitlyn Avitia, is looking forward to Luna y Sol’s opening.
“Supporting minority-owned businesses is important to me as a Latina woman,” Avitia said. “And I love finding new coffee shops near campus.”
Barajas hopes this space does become a center for the community and that Latino and other BIPOC people in Tucson feel seen.
“Coffee and conversation go hand in hand.” Barajas said. “I’m excited to provide the opportunity for folks to see a little piece of their story in our story. It’s that safe space we are hoping to create here, not just for us, but for the community to have access to.”

Luna y Sol Cafe

137 W. 29th Street, Tucson
www.lunaysolcafe.com