PASCO, Wash. –
Pasco artist and teacher Saul Martinez and his partner Alexia Estrada are the co-owners of Cafe con Arte will be a coffee house that will have art from local artists.
Their hope is to use creative expression to start healthy conversations in the community.
“Sitting at a coffee shop just allows introspection,” said Martinez. “Allows great conversation, community.”
The space doesn’t look like much now as it sits across the street from Peanuts Park.
Martinez says he wants to have the community learn about art while relaxing with a cup of coffee.
“We didn’t want to make this just a coffee shop with decorations on the wall,” said Martinez. “It has to be imagery, relatable imagery. You know I tell my students all the time, that once you discover that you’re creative, that you’re an artist, then you have that Spiderman complex where when you have great power, come great responsibility.”
Alexia Estrada’s background is in community organization.
She told me she wants this to be a place of reflection.
“We really want to be a place where people feel reflected in the art they see,” said Estrada. “We want to celebrate the diversity in the Tri-Cities and that is what we hope to bring to Cafe con Arte.”
Martinez and Estrada told me, right now they are coming up with some money to be able to fund construction for the space to meet ADA requirements.
They hope to open in the next few months.
Just in time for when the Peanuts Park farmers market will open.
