Palomas Cafecito wants to be the flavor of North Salinas.

On Mother’s Day evening, Sunday, May 10, there is a long line outside Palomas Cafecito in North Salinas, where mothers, their children and families are getting coffee, matcha or sweet bread.

A week after its brick-and-mortar grand opening on Sunday May 3, the Mexican-inspired café finally has its establishment more than two years later, where customers can get anything from a churro latte to a Mexican mocha.

Jennifer Perez Garcia and her now fiancé Bryan Hernandez started their small business in March of 2024 at Hernandez's parents' house, making coffee from the kitchen with a Breville espresso machine—they have now upgraded to a Rocket 2 group, which is more sophisticated. Through social media and word of mouth, their business has grown to eight employees, who are all women of Latino descent. Already, they are serving 300 to 400 orders a day in their 935-square-foot location.

Nicole Colvin, a 22-year-old who was waiting in line with her mother for a strawberry matcha latte, has supported Garcia and her business since the beginning.

“It’s my first time seeing the brick-and-mortar and it's a really great accomplishment because [Jennifer] has been doing so much,” Colvin says. “A lot of small businesses here are expanding and in five years, maybe Palomas Cafecito can expand to the city of Monterey or other cities.”

Palomas Cafecito is located in Creekbridge at 1488 Constitution Blvd., Unit C. With its gray painted walls with blue pigeon stencil paintings, a brown leather sofa and brown chairs, a Mother Mary miniature statue, a wood table and free wi-fi, people can enjoy their drink or pastries and work in the building.

“I knew I always wanted to have my own business because I grew up working since the age of 13 at my parents' taco truck called Lonchera La Paloma in East Salinas,” Garcia says.

Garcia has a twin sister and two younger sisters and they all helped run the taco truck as a family. They grew up in an apartment in East Salinas and struggled to make ends meet, but with dedication and a hustling state of mind, her mother, originally from Hidalgo, Mexico, now owns four taco trucks, which inspired Garcia to do the same, but with coffee.

“I grew up in a Mexican household where we always had coffee for any occasion. I was never a barista, but I love the taste of coffee. And I told my mom, I want to sell coffee and I can get a machine and teach myself,” Garcia says. “And she's like, ‘Pues, get it, order it and I'll pay for it. This is what you want to do, do it.’ I ordered the machine and as soon as I got it, I got a few drinks down, and then I started selling from my fiancé's parents' house, and that’s how it all began."

Her mother also suggested the name of Palomas to continue the family legacy. 

“My fiancé has a business degree, so he’s the brains behind everything when it comes to all the finances. I come up with the recipes and do all the baking and the labor,” Garcia says.

Since she started in 2024, Garcia worked almost every day including weekends to save money and was able to put aside $70,000 to open the brick-and-mortar.

“I didn't take out any loans. I paid everything and that’s all because of hard work and many days of no sleep,” she says.

Garcia can work up to 14 or more hours a day to bake and prepare everything the same day or even the day before and makes sure all the essentials are needed for her employees to work smoothly.

“Jennifer has this drive like no other, she's always busy, always organized, always trying to make sure that everything is done in a timely manner, and that we feel comfortable as employees,” says Kyley Martinez, a 19-year-old who was one of the many employees chosen by Garcia after sending her resume. “We have such an amazing team, and it's kind of like a really big family.”

Garcia received more than 160 resumes and made sure to pick the ones with the best experience who spoke both English and Spanish.

The most popular items at Palomas Cafecito are the cookie butter latte, the churro latte, as well as the nutella knot.

“This is my dream and it has finally come true,” Garcia says. “Mexicans don't take a day off and I don't want to be like my parents. My mom is sick and has bad blood pressure because of her business and so for me, this is enough for now. I didn't see myself having [a brick-and-mortar] until 10 more years, but it came sooner than obviously expected.”

Palomas Cafecito is open from 7am-5pm Monday-Thursday and 9am-4pm Saturday-Sunday.