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Maria Mendoza spent 20 years in dental management before making her move into the restaurant world. Taking part in the expansion of San Jose’s popular Con Azucar coffee shops only served to fuel a desire to own a place of her own.
The result: Cita’s Café, which opened on Nov. 1 in the location previously occupied by Calavera Coffee. And according to Mendoza, the community’s reception has been overwhelming.
“It was always my vision from childhood to have a business,” she said. “And so here we are. But I didn’t expect so much warmth and welcoming to be honest with you.”
Mendoza left her first career in 2023 when her friend, Con Azucar owner Alejandra Gonzalez, asked for her help with marketing. Saying she was “kind of in a limbo of not knowing what to do,” Mendoza agreed to try.
“It was a leap of faith,” she said. “I created content for them, and kind of kept them alive on social media. You have to have a lot of creativeness, and once I got started, I loved it.”
Shortly after joining the team, Gonzalez asked her to temporarily manage one of the cafés. With her previous experience and her enjoyment of the hospitality side of the business, Mendoza said it was a piece of cake.
“As operations manager for their franchisees,” she said, “I helped them open about 10 stores in two years. I learned, more than anything, to understand that the culture in every area is different.”
Mendoza decided to take a break from Con Azucar last April, but was drawn back into the business when she discovered that Calavera’s former location was available for rent.
“My husband and I stopped by,” she said, “and we checked it out. It was just one of those times when it was just meant to be. A lot of it was plug-and-play because there was already a coffee shop here.”
Currently living in Gilroy, Mendoza said that she is frequently asked why she didn’t open up in that city rather than in Hollister. But Gilroy, she said, did not fit her vision of being the right place at this particular time.
“I’m a firm believer that there’s business for everybody everywhere,” she said. “I believe God puts us in places that we’re supposed to be in, and this is where we landed.”
Casting about for a name for the business, she decided on the Spanish word for “a date,” to emphasize the friendly social aspects of coffee shop culture. She then developed the café’s “minimalist” menu.
“It’s all pretty straightforward,” Mendoza said, “I really wanted to focus on the drinks that I was making, so I only implemented about five to six specialty drinks. I wanted to focus on the quality and the pairing of our syrups with our espresso.”
Citas’ coffee comes from Oakland’s Proyecto Diaz, a family-owned coffee company that is involved in reviving small farms across Latin America.
Mendoza uses one of their single-origin espressos as the basis for five “signature drinks,” including Mexican Mocha, with spiced chocolate, and the delightful Horchata, where the sweetness of the rice milk provides a counterpoint to the coffee’s earthy bitterness.
(A non-espresso Frappuccino version is also available, which Mendoza describes as “very yummy and very comforting,” along with a Dulce de Leche with sweet Mexican caramel.)
The Brown Shaken is another specialty, with oat milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and a truly eye-opening four shots of espresso, which is then shaken, Mendoza said, because “anything shaken is good.”
One of the signature drinks, Café de Olla Latte, almost didn’t make it onto the menu in time – Mendoza said she could not pinpoint the flavors that she wanted in it until the night before Citas opened. It’s become one of the most popular drinks.
“That one gets me kind of emotional,” she said, “because I feel like that’s really something that I created from scratch. It’s all natural spices, and even the sugarcane is not processed sugar. When people come back to order it, it’s a good feeling.”
There are straight coffee choices on the menu, too, like cappuccino, Americano, caramel macchiato and drip coffee—the last a favorite of customer Elias Herrera, who, on his first visit to Citas, described it as “perfect.”
“It reminds me a little bit of when I was in Italy,” he said. “A lot of places I go to, it’s too green or too light. This one wasn’t too dark and was just right for what a drip coffee is supposed to be.”
Citas carries a line of teas as well, including Chai Latte and Macha Latte, with or without a vanilla cream topping, and Remedios tea, with ginger, lemon zest and honey. The Iced Strawberry Macha is a particularly nice one, with a mix of sweet matcha and strawberry cream, for all the world tasting like a strawberry milkshake.
There is a line of refreshers, with variations based on pineapple juice and hibiscus tea, including the Berry Hibiscus Refresher, which adds a mixed berry syrup, giving the drink a nice raspberry tartness.
The food menu includes two sandwiches—a BLT on Texas toast and a stacked club with ham, turkey, bacon, two cheeses and avocado on sourdough. There are also three variations on avocado sourdough toast, using an avocado mash made fresh daily, starting with The Classic, with microgreens and pepper flakes.
There are two brilliantly colored variations: the Garden Bloom, which adds cherry tomatoes and feta, and the Caprese, which brings in mozzarella and fresh basil with a balsamic glaze. The portions are large and shareable.
So far, Mendoza said the reception she has had in her first month and a half has been more than she had envisioned, and that she is very thankful for everything she and her staff have experienced in such a short time.
‘I’m seeking community versus just being a popular coffee shop,” Mendoza said. “I want it to be a place where our customers come to build memories. It’s heartwarming to see people walking through your door and enjoying what you’re providing.”
Citas Café
1715 Airline Hwy, Hollister
Open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily
Closed Mondays
Citas on Facebook and Instagram
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
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