Abogados Café in St. Paul has a vision for justice and hospitality

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Coffee is now being served with a new twist in St. Paul.

It's about two thousand miles from Latin America but on the inside - it's hard to tell.

Ofelia Ponce Martinez says, "The intention of the coffee shop is to show a small town in Latin America, so wanted people to be transported, from the tile to the colors to the wood shelves. The arches, the planters so everything is here, everything is here for a reason."

Inti Martínez-Alemán and Martinez were born and raised in Honduras and came to St. Paul - to practice law and as if they weren't busy enough. Then they got an idea to start Abogados Café.

"How about we create a coffee shop that is an extension of ourselves and it portrays and shows our lifestyle and portrays and shows who we are," Martínez-Alemán said.

That's exactly what they've done in the Como neighborhood. They make their own coffee with a local roaster who has Latin American roots - and their shelves are filled with local Latino products, and the menu is full of legal lingo, like the "NDA."

"We cannot tell you what's in it," said Martinez, "It's my favorite drink."

There's laughter in the purpose - but heaviness too. Martínez-Alemán's beloved mother - an attorney in Honduras - was assassinated.

"That was a very moving moment and it impacted the rest of my life," he said. "But it also grounded me. Before that, I had a very naive perception of the law.  I thought if the law says this, it must be applied and what I understood after that moment, the law's only as good as the humans who put it into effect."

So they carry on his mother's drive for justice - and their passion for hospitality.  

"When people come in, I want them to feel they are home. I want them to feel that this space that we have created has warmth and that they are welcome," Martinez says.

"Abogados" translates to "lawyers" in Spanish. The café is the first law-themed coffee shop in the country.  

Abogados Cafe has been open for three months.  They are doing so well they are planning to expand to serving Latin wines and tapas.  Martínez-Alemán says business is better than he could have imagined.