Besides coffee, the menu includes matcha and a wellness bar.
The holiday season is here and there nothing more festive than a cookie butter latte, a corn matcha or a sweet treat. Cafe Soleil Bistro & Deli in downtown Salinas is already in the holiday spirit with a Christmas tree with red and gold ornaments and their comforting drinks.
Cafe Soleil isn’t a brand-new business, but it’s now under new ownership, with a revamped drink menu, house-made ingredients with plans to expand its menu. The new owners, Paola Garcia and Marco Becerra, say they have spent the past month renovating the Main Street cafe for their soft re-opening in the beginning of November; with its official grand re-opening planned for the first week of December.
“The previous owners sold it to us. They didn't really have a lot of time to take care of [the cafe]. They have a young son and they want to pay attention to their family, and they were nice enough to pick us as the buyers,” Garcia says.
The new menu keeps a few familiar items, including a Caesar wrap and breakfast sandwich, while adding ceremonial-grade matcha sourced from Japan through Zum Zum Tea. The house-made corn and watermelon milks, fresh juices and salads reflect the owners’ aim to offer more than coffee.
“This is not just a coffee shop. This is also a wellness bar,” Garcia says.
The corn matcha is already a customer favorite with a cornbread garnish, alongside drinks such as the blue dream, made with spirulina and honey, and the dark cherry crackle, made with dark cocoa, cherry cold foam and a cherry garnish.
Garcia says the cafe avoids artificial sweeteners and aims for drinks that are “not too sweet.”
Other drinks include a watermelon matcha, lychee matcha and honey canela latte.
The cafe also serves pastries from Otto’s Bread Company a block away from the cafe and the coffee beans used come from Honduras.
Cafe Soleil is located at 8 W. Gabilan St. and is open Monday-Saturday from 8am to 5pm.