Founded by two women in Las Vegas who previously ran a marketing company, Café Lola is beginning the process of franchising. The two-unit coffee café chain’s main demographic is women and mothers. Founders Alexandra Lourdes and Lin Jerome began the coffee café before having children and wanted a space where women felt comfortable and could work while enjoying their time.
“We were sick of going to a coffee shop that was drab and brown and just not inspiring,” Lourdes and Jerome said.
Jerome and Lourdes made a café that they would want to go to, so the customer they decided to reach was someone similar to them and make the experience as personalized to that demographic as possible.
“We have women all over the country coming to support us because of who we are,” they said.
Food is modeled after a European café experience plus an afternoon tea service featuring an assortment of pastries and tea. Healthful foods include the “Let's Avocuddle Toast,” the “Parisian Style Quiche” with spinach and feta or prosciutto and cheddar and “Beauty & the Beet,” which is a beet salad with pistachios.
There are also sweet and decadent items on the menu.
“We have had our challenges as women and minority [business owners] in the field,” they said. “But we’ve always said we’ll do what it takes.”
Café Lola in October announced franchising opportunities to expand beyond the two company-owned units in Las Vegas. The team also has two other restaurants, Pizza Anonymous, a virtual brand that opened over the summer, and Saint Honoré Doughnuts and Beignets, a bakery offering sweet treats.