Con Azucar Cafe<\/a> co-owners Alejandra Gonzalez, her husband Uriel Soto and Alexander and Victor Garcia saw the Gilroy location as a natural expansion. Since its opening in March, it has introduced its coffee, food, atmosphere and commitment to the community \u2014 and the response has been welcoming.<\/p>\n\u201cOur vision is to build a brand that positively impacts every community we enter by creating local jobs, supporting schools and organizations and becoming a gathering place where people can connect,\u201d Maria Fernanda Gonzalez, manager of the Gilroy location, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe believe success is measured not only by growth, but by the relationships we build along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Con-Azucar-2-1024x768.jpeg\")
Con Azucar Cafe in downtown Gilroy is one of three corporate locations. The cafe\u2019s first location is based in downtown San Jose. Photo by Giovanni Albanese Jr.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez said Con Azucar wanted to keep the memories of the Mexican panaderia that previously occupied the space, while adding its own touches. Although the renovations took two years, Gonzalez said the business owners remained committed because they knew Gilroy was the right community. Gilroy has a population of roughly 60,000 people, of which nearly 60% are Latino.<\/p>\n
Gilroy\u2019s downtown along Monterey Road has struggled with numerous vacant storefronts, but in recent years the city has welcomed several new eateries, taprooms, breweries and cafes \u2014 with Con Azucar among them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage businesses that enhance the character and vitality of downtown,\u201d Rachelle Bedell, communications and engagement manager for Gilroy, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez said Con Azucar has begun ingratiating itself within the community, including sponsoring school events, supporting local athletic teams and participating in community activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose experiences have allowed us to begin building relationships beyond simply serving coffee,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gilroy resident Gabriel Aguaristi has been coming to Con Azucar regularly with his family since it opened. He said they want to help new businesses thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to support the small businesses in our town,\u201d Aguaristi told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe customer service here is great, and the drinks, especially the lattes, are amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since its inaugural downtown San Jose store opened in 2022, Con Azucar has grown in popularity and quickly branched out. Customers such as San Jose residents Tatiana Navarro and Lisette Magana, who were antique shopping in Gilroy, make it a point to stop by the cafe for its unique offerings.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing here, aside from the food, you don\u2019t have to explain the environment,\u201d Magana told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe culture explains it. They created a modern space to go with the traditions and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Con Azucar Cafe brand has three corporate locations \u2014 the original East Santa Clara Street spot, Silver Creek in San Jose and Gilroy. It has franchises throughout California, as well as in Nebraska and Texas. Several more are planned in the Bay Area, Southern California, Chicago, Texas, Nebraska and Idaho.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur focus is to continue growing responsibly while maintaining the quality, culture and customer experience that people expect from Con Azucar Cafe,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cAt the same time, we\u2019ll continue investing in the communities we serve. Growth is important to us, but building lasting relationships within each community will always remain our top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact Giovanni Albanese Jr. at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In less than a handful of years, a concept to spread Mexican culture and its traditions by way…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[712,1969,88,90,89],"class_list":["post-389338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-centerpiece","tag-retail","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}