After a WiFi lag disrupted her workflow, a separate issue bubbled to the surface for Nipomo resident Maricruz Sanchez.
“I looked up coffee shops nearby,” said Sanchez, who wanted to see if there was somewhere in town other than Starbucks for remote workers or students to camp out with their laptops for a while.
“McDonald’s popped up. Sunshine Donut popped up. But I didn’t see any sit down coffee shops,” Sanchez said. “Then I was like, you know what, we really need that. From there, it was like a domino effect.”
About a year later, Sanchez opened Bubbles and Tea Coffeehouse on Tefft Street in Nipomo. The new cafe offers coffee, tea, and espresso drinks, as well as breakfast, brunch, and lunch offerings.
“I just feel like Nipomo needs it,” Sanchez said. “We all drive to AG; we all drive to SLO; we all drive to these places to buy what we want. But why can’t we have it here?”
A former realtor, Sanchez said there were times she occasionally thought about what it’d be like to run her own coffee shop or restaurant someday.
“I think that a lot of the stuff I was doing prior to finding this place was kind of leading me here,” said Sanchez, who credited her parents for nurturing her entrepreneurial spirit. During childhood, she loved selling tamales door-to-door with her family.
A ribbon cutting for Sanchez’s new venture was held in June. Over the past few weeks, Sanchez said that new customers keep trickling into the coffeehouse thanks to positive word of mouth.
Some patrons are confused about the ‘Bubbles’ in Bubbles and Tea, however. The bubbly branding refers to the venue’s sparkling wine selection, but Sanchez said she feels guilty when customers, especially young ones, assume the shop serves boba.
“I feel so bad when kids are so excited. They come in with the happiest faces, and I’m like, ‘Sorry, I don’t have it,’” Sanchez said. “But I am looking to add it in later.”
While boba may find its way to the coffeehouse in the future, current beverage offerings at the shop include coffee and tea bar staples—Americanos, cappuccinos, chai, etc.
“I think, by far, I’m a spice brown sugar kind of girl,” said Sanchez, after a short pause to consider which of the shop’s various flavored lattes is her personal favorite.
On the fizzier side of the menu, patrons can find more than a dozen different wines, offered by the glass or bottle. As for food, the coffeehouse serves bagels, cookies, yogurt, avocado toast, and a handful of sandwiches to choose from. Each sandwich also comes with a small side salad.
“The turkey pesto has been everybody’s favorite,” said Sanchez, whose shop also offers caprese, roast beef, and veggie grilled cheese sandwiches.
The coffeehouse’s pastry lineup includes blueberry white chocolate scones and rosemary, thyme, and feta scones, provided by the Bridge Cafe in San Luis Obispo.
“Their scones have been a hit here,” Sanchez said. “They’re very tasty.”
There are even dog treats available for four-legged patrons of the pet-friendly coffeehouse, which has both indoor seating and a scenic outdoor creekside patio.
Bubbles and Tea is located in a plaza of businesses across the street from Birchwood Nipomo. Sanchez said she acted fast when she first found out about the plaza’s vacant corner unit, unique compared to other units in the plaza due to its patio deck.
“I came by and there was a phone number on the window,” said Sanchez, who called and was able to arrange a tour of the site almost immediately. “They opened it up right then and there. I saw it, and that day I put the deposit down.”
Her vision is to give Nipomo a “one-stop shop for really good wine and really good coffee,” and eventually down the line, “really good boba,” she said.
“I’m not a chef. I’m not a coffee connoisseur. I’m not a sommelier. I’m not any of that,” Sanchez said. “I’m just really passionate about having something in Nipomo more than anything. This area has so much potential.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood recommends the iced vanilla latte. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Santa Barbara County Fair Guide 2023.