With new cafe, Eagle County family brings a taste of Mexico to Eagle
Canela Coffee and Pastry Shop on Broadway St. serves crepes, sandwiches, and drinks across cultures
Canela Coffee and Pastry Shop/Courtesy photo
A new coffee shop has arrived in Eagle, bringing a variety of fresh flavors. Designed to be a space for family and friends to gather together, the family-run business Canela Coffee and Pastry Shop opened this week at 228 Broadway Street.
The shop’s owners, husband and wife team Chef Rocky and Rosy Gonzales, have been in the restaurant industry for over 25 years. Canela Coffee and Pastry Shop is the culmination of a longtime dream of the two to own their own restaurant.
“The whole theme is to have a community coffee shop for gathering in Eagle,” said Cindy Gonzales, the Gonzales’ daughter and the shop’s social media and marketing manager.
The name “Canela,” which means “cinnamon” in Spanish, was inspired by the hair color of the owners’ grandchildren, Rocky Gonzales said. The shop’s signature drink will be café de olla, a unique Mexican coffee with cinnamon, star anise, and piloncillo, a raw dark sugar, mixed in.
“The café de la olla is very popular in Mexico, and hopefully here it’s the same,” Rosy Gonzales said.
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“We haven’t heard of any other place that has it, so hopefully it will be our signature beverage,” Cindy Gonzales said.
The shop is a family affair: the other two current staff members are the Gonzales’ daughters, Cindy Gonzales and Chef Gonzales. Chef Gonzales is a professional pastry chef with her own brand, Sweet Mountains, and Cindy Gonzales runs the shop’s social media and marketing.
Chef Gonzales makes all of the shop’s unique pastries, which this week include a chai latte cupcake, a silk pie, and a special chocolate chip cookie made with chocolate from Mexico.
Chef Rocky Gonzales runs the kitchen. The menu includes sweet crepes, savory crepes, salads, sandwiches, and rotating weekly specials.
“We want to make it simple, not confusing, but you have options,” Cindy Gonzales said.
Chef Rocky’s goal is to use his extensive culinary experience to introduce the café’s patrons to a variety of type of cuisine. “My dad also, in his work history, he has done different types of food … French, Italian, and everything, so he combines everything,” Cindy Gonzales said.
“He wants customers to try out different flavors,” Cindy Gonzales said.
Finding local, high-quality ingredients is of utmost importance to the family as they run their business. “We want to make sure the brand of the syrups is quality, and the coffee is quality, the flours for crepes are quality, and the fruit,” Cindy said.
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The shop’s coffee beans come from Bonfire Roastery, which is based in Carbondale.
Opening a restaurant has always been a goal for the Gonzales family. “They always had the idea,” Cindy Gonzales said of her parents. Concrete plans were initiated for Canela Coffee and Pastry Shop as it exists today about two months ago, when they found the space.
“It was really hard to gather, first, the capital, all the finances, the money, and then to put it all together,” Cindy Gonzales said.
“They are so happy because their idea, their wish came true, finally,” Cindy Gonzales said. “After so many years working for somebody else, they are working now for their own place, so that’s really satisfying to them,” she said.
It took almost a month to make minor remodels, and as the café earns income, more changes may be made to the inside, but the idea behind the décor is simplicity. The blue and orange color scheme of the logo and theme of the restaurant comes from the main colors of a Mexican tile called talavera, Cindy Gonzales explained.
“Our brand, we did ourselves, because we wanted to have something unique,” Cindy Gonzales said.
The Gonzaleses want to bring together the community through their shop. “The thing that is important, is that the people coming with families, they enjoy it,” Rosy Gonzales said.
“(My parents) want (the café to be) a place that gathers community, for all cultures,” Cindy Gonzales said.
After the grand opening, they plan to host events, including cookie decorating and birthday parties. Patrons of the shop’s next-door neighbor, Hidden Table Games, can find food and drinks at Canela to fuel their gaming. There will also eventually be free wifi for those who want to sit and work.
The Gonzales family also hopes to cater community events. “Of course, we want to be part of the community if they invite us to events,” Cindy Gonzales said.
Canela Coffee and Pastry Shop will be having its grand opening Friday, Nov. 17, at noon. Attend for pastry samples, photo opportunities, and to gather as a community, connected by delicious coffee, pastries, and meal options.
For those eager to visit Canela already, the shop has been open since Sunday, Nov. 12, with soft hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
