YAKIMA, Wash.- In a state filled with coffee shops, two Hispanic, queer business owners are making themselves standout by offering more than caffeinated drinks. Le Mercantile is an all-in-one plant, thrift and coffee shop on Yakima Avenue.
The owners of the store, Jessy Orozco and Manuel Rivas, have been in business as Le Mercantile for just over a year now.
They admit the concept of thrifting and buying plants while drinking a coffee was a bit confusing for customers at first.
“At the beginning it was a very foreign concept because when you go into a thrift store, you don’t usually see coffee, but I think the way that we’ve carried it is all its own elements,” says Rivas.
The layout of the store has worked to their benefit. When you first walk in, you’re greeted by shelves of green plants just in front of a window with the coffee menu. If you go around the corner, there’s a thrift store full of antiques and, as their signage says, “cool junk.”
The addition of plants was the last to come to Rivas and Orozco, but they say it makes sense given both of their Hispanic heritage.
“If you walk into a Latino household, the first thing you’ll see is plants everywhere so that’s just one of our memories,” says Rivas.
The thrift side of the store is actually a collection of 10 different vendors selling antiques and collectibles within Les Mercantile. Most of the vendors also fall in under Hispanic descent.
“We’re starting to see way more Latinos come out here,” says Orozco. “That’s what we’re shooting for. We get the Latino community involved more with doing more events.”
The owners of the store see their ownership as more than a business. For them, it’s a way to express who they really are while doing what they are passionate about.
“It’s mostly about being able to share our identity and be able to have a different face in downtown,” says Rivas. “Both our parents gave us a dream and now we’re living it.”
Rivas says the fact of being a Hispanic, queer business owner in downtown Yakima was concerning at first. But since seeing the regulars and relationships that have developed, he’s more confident in being himself while at work.
“We really didn’t know what we were gonna get into coming downtown,” says Rivas. “We were scared where we are both Hispanic. We don’t know what it’s gonna be like.”
Through weekly community markets and events, Le Mercantile has built a recognizable brand that people feel safe going to. For both their Hispanic and LGBTQ+ identities, it’s part of the community they have built.
“There’s nothing else that we want more than getting people to downtown and having that ability to thrive in a community that allows that,” says Rivas.
