Cafe Amigo Is More Than Just a Coffee Shop

The Cavallaro Transit Center may look like another average bus stop for folks to get on and off at, but one step inside the main building and you'll find a special spot that offers more than just a cup of hot Joe.

Luis Barrientos is the proud owner of Café Amigo, which opened June 4 in a vacant spot that what was once considered to be an eye sore by many people.

Café Amigo is operated by the Barrientos family, which includes Luis’ wife Adriana and their children Esau, Salvador, and future employee Gerardo.

The first thing that stands out at Café Amigo is the huge bright open dinning area for guests to relax in and grab a fresh cup of coffee, snack, salad or sandwich before the long commute over highway 17.

Unlike other coffee joints that have a dark, quiet atmosphere, Barrientos says he chose to stick with a more lively and friendly approach.

“One thing that I don’t like when I go to coffee shops is I feel like I’m going to an adult place,” Barrientos said. “I don’t see kids and it’s dark. Here, we want it to be noisy and kids are welcomed.”

“We’re trying to have people hang out,” Esau added. “We’re trying to have this be the fun spot like, ‘Kids, come study. Parents come hang out.’”

Originally from the town of Leon, Guanajuato in Mexico, Barrientos has been in the food industry since the age of 17. He picked up some of his cooking skills from his mom Maria De La Luz Olvera along the way as well.

When he was younger, he worked at a restaurant in Guanajuato for about a year and cooked up classic Mexican dishes, as well as Chinese food. When he came to Santa Cruz County at 17, he spent 10 years working at Mission Springs in Scotts Valley. And now he brings all his years of experience to a kitchen he can call his own.

Opening his new cafe at the transit center was an easy decision for Barrientos. Before Café Amigo existed, he was one of the many commuters to take the Highway 17 Express over the hill, and like many was puzzled as to why the spot had not been in use.

After months of paper work and hours of planning his dream of owning a coffee shop/café, it has finally become a reality, and Barrientos is happy that he picked the Cavallaro station for his new business.

“I think the location is great,” Barrientos said. “It’s a bus station, but the people around here expect real quality, not just food from a bus station. They want good coffee, good service, and good food.”

The menu is still in the works, yet, Café Amigo features popular food items like salads ($2-4), hot and cold sandwiches ($5.50), and a Mexican favorite, the torta ($5). A torta is a classic Latin sandwich that comes on a long sweet roll with ham, chipotle mayo, queso fresco (fresh cheese), cilantro, lettuce, tomato, and onion.

And of course it wouldn’t be a legitimate café without some sweet pastries courtesy of Neni’s Cookies in Santa Cruz to go along with a hot frothy cappuccino ($2.50, $3.00, $3.50). Café Amigo also has cold drinks to cool off with on warm days, like iced coffee $2 (12oz), $2.50 (16oz), and strawberry, banana, or mixed berry smoothies ($3.50, $4.00).

So whether it’s a quick breakfast for the road or a chill spot with free Wi-Fi to catch up on some work, Café Amigo is certainly the place to go.

“That’s why we call it Café Amigo,” Barrientos said. “Because I want everybody to be at home, [and a] friend.”

FYI: Se habla Español and they sell buss passes just in case yours happens to get left behind. (Sorry, no daily passes)