Specialty coffee shop opens in Merced, offering unique flavors and welcoming atmosphere

A new specialty coffee shop has opened offering a welcoming atmosphere and specialty coffee flavors to the Merced community.

Hola Cafecito, owned by Elizabeth Moreno and her husband Oscar, opened its doors to the public Thursday. The location offers a variety of handcrafted beverages as well as some food items and baked goods.

Hola Cafecito, 429 W. Main Street has a variety espresso-based drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos as well as teas and tea lattes. Other menu items include Avo Toast, a bagel with cream cheese, prosciutto and pom toast, a breakfast bagel and oatmeal.

The location is currently operating with reduced hours as the owners work to train staff and go through the process of opening and closing the new location.

“We do plan on staying open after this,” said co-owner Elizabeth Moreno. “Right now, we are doing shorter hours just to make sure that our team gets, you know, fully trained in every aspect from beginning to closing, and we want to feel the foot traffic and what it’s gonna be like throughout the week.”

The shops current hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends

Moreno said they plan to hold a sort of grand opening for the business sometime around May and that they try to be involved in the community.

“We really want to do something for the community. Have some live music, have some vendors out here,” she said.

Moreno said the business wants to be welcoming and be involved in the community.

“We are bilingual, so we hope that our Hispanic community feels welcome and that they come out and try some of our house specials,” she said.

One of the drinks available at the coffee shop is a Cafe de Olla, a traditional Mexican beverage that Moreno said is prepared with a house-made brown sugar and orange peel syrup.

“It’s a very like nostalgic drink for us. So we’re just excited to bring that to Merced, you know, something different.”

Moreno said currently online ordering is only available for the Hanford location. Those who wish to follow the coffee shop’s progress can do so by visiting Hola Cafecito’s account on Instagram.

This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 12:52 PM.