New coffee shop on Salt Lake City’s west side is changing what people think about North Temple

The owner of a new coffee shop on Salt Lake City’s west side said her business is changing what people picture when they think about North Temple.

Un Cafecito, at 838 W. North Temple, stands out among the smoke shops and pizza places along the stretch of North Temple between Interstate 15 and Redwood Road, said owner Cynthia Lemus. With the opening of Un Cafecito, “I definitely think it’ll help change the area a little bit,” she said.

North Temple also has to contend with the long-held perception that it’s unsafe. “Nobody really likes this area except the people that go to Red Iguana,” Lemus said.

But, she said, her new business has become an “oasis” in its North Temple strip mall, visited by West High School students, local community groups, and coffee lovers of all ages.

And Un Cafecito is adding to the coffee landscape in the underserved Fairpark neighborhood, pioneered by Culture Coffee when it opened about a year ago. “I think it’s great for this side to get another coffee shop,” Lemus said. “It builds the place up a little bit.”

Being a ‘boss babe’

Lemus’ parents are both immigrants; her mother is from Peru, and her stepdad, who helped raise her, is from Mexico. When Lemus was born, her mother was 17, “so she didn’t even finish high school,” Lemus said. Even so, her mother went on to start a successful insurance agency.

“She created something for herself, and she definitely proved to me that if you never give up, you can succeed and do the things that you want to do,” Lemus said. “So she’s definitely the boss babe.”

Influenced by her mom’s success, Lemus pursued her own background in accounting and business, she said. Lemus always enjoyed coffee and coffee shops, she said, and she took barista courses in order to learn how to make her own coffee drinks at home.

All of this didn’t come together to form the impetus for Un Cafecito until after Lemus got sick, though.

She tested positive for the coronavirus March 31, 2020, and checked herself into the hospital on April 5. She had to be intubated and put into a medically induced coma, and she became the first person in Utah to receive “convalescent plasma” as a new treatment for COVID-19.

Lemus spent 25 days in the hospital, and she said she doesn’t remember any of it except for a few days at the end when she was awake.

Since her brush with death, Lemus said she has “a lot more appreciation for my family and for the community, and just love for people in general.”

Inspired by her own memories of hanging out with friends at coffee shops, and the joy of exploring new coffee shops, Lemus decided to branch out on her own. With her family’s encouragement, Lemus opened Un Cafecito in December.

The name evokes warmth and community. Spanish for “a small cup of coffee,” “un cafecito” is part of many Latinos’ childhoods, Lemus said, and refers to the coffee that families will often have together as they “chitchat and unwind.” She said everyone will look at one another at a certain point in the day and automatically ask, “un cafecito?,” ready for a cup to sip.

‘We’re here for them’

Lemus said people often ask how she deals with having a business on North Temple, and whether the area is safe.

North Temple is “not as dangerous or as scary as people think it is,” she said.

Lemus said she hasn’t had any problems with the homeless people who frequent the area, adding that they have typically respected her business and her customers. And Lemus said Salt Lake City police regularly patrol the parking lot outside.

“The Salt Lake City Police Department is proud to build strong relationships with local businesses like Un Cafecito,” the department said in an official statement. “Through our stratified policing model and our community-oriented policing approach, we focus on long-term problem-solving, community outreach and proactive crime prevention.”

Inside Un Cafecito, the Frida Kahlo-inspired artwork on the wall, as well as the soft pink paint on the back wall, speak to how Lemus hopes to make the cafe an inviting place for women in particular.

“I’m a mom, I’m a Latina woman, and I want to empower other women,” she said.

Lemus said she has encouraged one young woman who waits at the TRAX station just outside the cafe to come inside if she ever feels unsafe, without the pressure to buy something. “I think that the community is definitely realizing we’re here for them,” Lemus said.

Bringing Latin culture together

Lemus draws from her heritage to create her signature drinks, especially the Azucar!, the Duvalin, the horchata latte and the tres leches latte.

The Azucar! iced coffee is made with double espresso, brown sugar, milk, cold foam and cinnamon. It was inspired by the iconic Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz, whom Lemus listened to with her mother and grandmother when she was growing up. Cruz’s tagline in her songs was always “azucar!”, which means “sugar,” Lemus said.

In her office, Lemus has one of the U.S. quarters that feature Cruz, who was the first Afro-Latina to be depicted on U.S. currency.

The Duvalin iced coffee is inspired by the creamy Mexican candy of the same name, and the horchata latte and tres leches latte draw from the same flavors as the favorite beverage and cake.

“I wanted to bring all of Latin culture together, not just dedicated to Mexican or dedicated to Peruvian,” Lemus said. “... But I’ve been talking to friends from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and I’m trying to bring traits that they grew up with and incorporate it in coffee as well.”

Until the end of March, Un Cafecito will be featuring monthly specials like the La Tia Rosa with dulce de leche, the Irish Energy with cranberry green apple syrup and Red Bull, the “matchata” (a blend of matcha and horchata), and the Lucky Charm Latte, which features Lucky Charms marshmallows sprinkled on top.

Lemus is still rolling out Un Cafecito’s food menu, but she has pastries, bagels and croissants available, as well as Peruvian empanadas on the weekends. She also has plans to incorporate deli sandwiches into the menu.

News of Un Cafecito’s opening has been spreading by word of mouth on social media, Lemus said, with many Fairpark and Rose Park residents especially showing their support.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten anything at all negative from the community,” she said. “Everybody has been so happy and excited that we’re here.”

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