Cafe Tondo opened in Chinatown, providing a new spot for coffee, conchas, and evening spritzes. Founded by Abraham Campillo, Mike Kang, and chef Valeria Velasquez, it aims to foster community engagement amid diminishing public spaces. Campillo, inspired by the communal settings of Latin America and Europe, wants to create a welcoming environment where people can linger over drinks. Velasquez's menu is deeply rooted in both her and Campillo's backgrounds, featuring childhood-inspired dishes, demonstrating a fusion of culinary traditions from Mexico City, Bogotá, and Los Angeles.
As designers who often do digital things, we feel specifically within our community that algorithms are pushing us further [apart]. Campillo saw those spaces, where friends could spend hours, slipping from espresso to wine without having to move locations, across Latin America and Europe, but felt like they were missing from Los Angeles.
At Cafe Tondo, Velasquez explores dishes from Campillo's childhood, her upbringing in Bogota, and years living in Mexico City, starting with piloncillo and cinnamon-tinged cafe de olla and croissants in the morning, and then Milanesa at night.
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