Alma Cafe and Bakeshop, South Irving’s first local cafe, fills a void in the community

Alma Cafe & Bakehouse is filling a gap in South Irving as the first local coffee shop in the area. Marla Ojeda has been running the cafe with her family for three months now and has received immense support from a community that has long awaited an establishment like this.

“Locally, we’re the first in South Irving, so that’s a pretty big name to carry,” Ojeda says. “We’re so excited to come and open here because we saw the lack of local coffee shops in general, and the community agreed and supported; we’re so grateful we made the right decision. Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for a better first two months; it’s been incredible.”

It’s been five years since Ojeda and her family moved to South Irving from North Dallas, bringing their love for coffee and pastries with them. The only coffee available in the area was from the bigger chain coffee shops, and the nearest non-chain cafes are in Las Colinas, about a 15-minute drive for South Irving locals.

Chain coffee shops are convenient but do not satisfy the thirst of connoisseurs like her family, who are passionate about coffee. Ojeda and her family have always been involved in entrepreneurial endeavors, so when they noticed something was missing, they took it as a sign. 

“We come from building businesses like bakeries and restaurants, and it was just perfect, because there’s nothing here, and even our family wanted to maybe open in Dallas, but they truly trusted that this was the best location, because there’s literally not a coffee shop,” Ojeda says. “I think when you love food and sharing flavors within your family, that’s what brings you together, like having fun with your coffee, or chilaquiles, you know, that’s where my love for coffee truly started.”

But opening Alma Cafe was not without its struggles – it took them about two years to open successfully after signing their lease. The good part was that Ojeda fell in love with the space because it was a residential home and could offer a comfortable vibe, but the bad part was that the remodeling took longer than expected.

The delays were also due to all the additional changes they had to make to turn the residential home into a commercial one. Interior renovations included updating plumbing, electrical systems, tearing down walls, painting, and outside, they added a deck and a parking lot. 

In the meantime, they hosted pop-up events in front of their current location to help showcase their coffee and pastries to the community and receive constructive feedback. Throughout a year and a half of pop-up events, their communal support grew immensely. 

“We didn’t announce it, we just stood there with our little cart,” Ojeda says. “We just got out there, and it truly just grew into something great. We just did it, no marketing, no nothing, and our community just grew that way.”

Guests can indulge in Alma’s Mexican-inspired menu, like chilaquiles (red, green, or divorciados, which is a mix of both), burritos, and sandwiches. Their pastries are classic options like croissants, cakes, and cookies (the coffee cake and M&M cookie are delicious). 

The drink menu

As for the drink menu, they offer coffee, matcha, tea and lemonade. Popular options include the Spanish latte, which has condensed milk and the Fresita Matcha (strawberry matcha). They aim to have a coffee-forward menu and keep things classic with a very bold, dark roast, which they created in partnership with a local, family-owned roaster in Grand Prairie.

“Our food menu is Mexican-American inspired, because that’s just our cultures,” Ojeda says. “We are putting things on our menu that we love, and we try to keep it very classic. The flavors have a lot of Mexican culture in them.”

Community foundation

In the future, they hope to involve their community more and host mini markets to invite other small businesses into their cafe. Local support has been a strong foundation in creating their business; giving back feels natural to them. 

As more modern businesses continue to open in South Irving, Alma Cafe wants to remain true to its brand and the community it serves. They want to assure locals that they are a family-owned and operated business where anyone can enter and find a community. 

“We try to be part of the community –  like bringing better experiences without gentrification, but keeping the charm that Irving has to offer; I think people deserve to have nice things where they live, no matter the area and our coffee shop has a lot of diversity, and we’re very proud that everybody could just feel welcomed here, it’s a dream, especially how supportive our community has been,” Ojeda says. 

202 S. Britain Road, Irving. Open Monday – Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.