In a city full of coffee shops, Las Brujas is more than just a spot to grab a good latte — it is a shop that offers quality drinks that settle well, a bodega that supports local farmers and a gathering space that makes you want to stay for a while.

Las Brujas Coffee & Grocery had its soft opening on March 24, with over 200 drinks ordered in just three hours after the doors opened. Since then, the cafe has only become more of a hot spot for coworking, shopping and hanging out.

Parkview Baptist School teacher and Las Brujas patron Haley Spell believes the Mid City business is already playing an important role in the community.

“It’s a good third space,” Spell said. “It’s a spot in the community to just hang out that’s not home or work.”

Spell and her coworker, Gracie Feucht, decided to spend a good portion of their spring break at Las Brujas, seeing that it was a cozy, quaint spot to recharge during the downtime.

“When we came in, we immediately noticed that the vibes are very cool,” Feucht said. “This is a place that we could hang out in.”

From the first step inside of Las Brujas, guests are welcomed into the seating space, which leads into the bodega and cafe section. Available for purchase from the bodega are items such as bread and honey from local business owners and jarred Las Brujas coffee selections.

Las Brujas owner David Villa believes the storefront is bridging a gap in Baton Rouge’s small businesses at the moment.

“This is what the neighborhood is needing: a little bodega with fresh baked bread, milk and eggs,” Villa said.

When it comes to the produce coming out of the shop, Villa wanted to provide the fresh food he already consumes regularly while simultaneously supporting small farms.

“I really want to serve what I would serve in my kitchen,” Villa said. “I have a passion for local, sustainable food.”

The store is sandwiched between prominent Mid City businesses like Good Choices Co., The Radio Bar and Elsie’s Plate & Pie.

“Just this strip right here has a lot of really good places,” Spell said.

This location was very intentional for Villa.

Though Las Brujas is the freshest coffee shop in town, Villa is not new to Baton Rouge. He has called Baton Rouge home for a number of years, including during college at LSU, after his family moved to the city from Colombia.

When looking for a venue, the Mid City location was familiar and fitting for Villa’s vision.

“This is our old stomping ground, so I knew it would work great,” Villa said. “It’s a cool little block.”

While Villa has lived in New Orleans for the past few years, producing a podcast called “Coffee Upside Down” and beginning Las Brujas as an online storefront, he is happy to now be back in Baton Rouge.

“It feels like home,” Villa said.

Though being back in the city he was raised in contributes to his feeling of nostalgia, Las Brujas is largely inspired by his Colombian heritage — in fact, the cafe’s namesake is from his family’s farm in his birth country.

“It’s kind of a global family enterprise,” Villa said. “It’s an homage to family tradition and farmhouse ways.”

Though the phrase literally translates to ‘the witches’ in Spanish, the farm’s name relates to the vegetation of the land.

“It has nothing really to do with magic,” Villa said. “It’s the Spanish moss that was hanging on the trees of the property that looked like silver witches’ hair.”

Now, Villa’s heritage influences various aspects of the cafe, including the interior design.

“The style was always going to be warm, woody, rustic Colombian farmhouse meets mid-century modern,” Villa said. “I just want [guests] to feel at home and feel welcome.”

When furnishing the shop, Villa wanted to focus on repurposing items from estate sales, Facebook Marketplace and local thrift stores, as well as furniture directly from family and friends.

This vintage feel comes through in the seating area, where large community sub-spaces are created in place of small, isolated tables.

“It’s really cozy and has lots of individualized spaces with communal tables,” Spell said.

Couches line the exterior of this space, with a long dining table and two smaller tables in place of a formal desk space.

In one spot is the Kid’s Corner, decked out with coloring pages, story books and toys to entertain the children of patrons. Villa felt it was an important space to include as built-in support for caregivers.

“There’s a place for everybody,” Villa said.

Inclusion extends past just seating, though.

Las Brujas aims to support the health needs of community members by selling fresh whole foods, gluten-free pastries and digestion friendly coffee.

“I want customers to feel like no matter who they are or what they’re doing, we’ll have something to offer them,” Villa said.

Part of Villa’s approach is to find the balance between accessible options and offering premium foods.

Lactose milks carried at the store include goat milk and A2 milk, which generally help digestion and inflammation issues common with A1 milks. Instead of popular dairy alternatives like oat milk or almond milk, Las Brujas carries homemade coconut milk, which is generally better for gut health and blood sugar maintenance.

Villa chose to be selective about milks to mirror what he has learned from his own experiences with indigestion and inflammation. It is his hope that he can help make a positive change in the eating habits of patrons.

“I definitely want to meet people where they are but also hold my values,” Villa said. “I think a lot of people don’t know what it’s like to feel vibrantly healthy and happy — that’s all I want for anybody.”