Just off the busy streets of Central and Girard lies a secret garden. Inside, Adrian Cruz is serving up one of his curated drinks.
This flower-filled space is a far cry from the former corporate life of Cruz, one of three owners of Grandma’s Coffee Garden in Albuquerque. He’s always had a deep passion for the world of coffee, but while working for a large company he found himself feeling empty.
“It just was soul draining and I would come home and I would just be miserable,” Cruz said.
Cruz has a degree in business management, and for years found himself working for others in companies he thought he’d love, but ultimately found unfulfilling. Betsy Solis, another partner in the garden, was in a similar situation.
“I’ve always loved the coffee scene in Albuquerque specifically, but when I started that job initially, Adrian and I were talking about what kind of coffee concept we would like to see,” Solis said.
So the journey of creating their space began. In 2023 Cruz, Solis, and their third business partner, Austin Wolff, moved in together, and each morning over breakfast they were talking coffee.
“I think because of that shared experience we were like, ‘here are all the things that don’t work and here are all the things we would do if we had our own coffee shop.’ So we had a very, very early vision,” Cruz said.
With the help of Wolff’s real estate background the group found the plot of land where the garden now sits. It wasn’t more than a dirt lot, but with the help of their friends and chosen family, in just a few short weeks it was filled with local flowers, plants and buzzing wildlife.
At the core of the group’s vision was sustainability, intentionality, and inclusivity. Along with their homemade syrups and baked goods, Grandma’s Coffee Garden aims to create a space of comfort,
“It's the energy exchange ya know? Like go where your people are selling, go where your people are working. That just kind of feels like a value for me personally. We want everyone to feel seen and to feel welcomed,” Solis said.
Solis, Cruz, and Wolff are part of the queer community. They held this identity close in creating a space where people can come as they are, and the community seems to value that intentionality.
Averie Green heard about Grandma’s through social media in the first week that the coffee garden was open. She has been a regular ever since, and brings new people to experience the space weekly.
“I think first and foremost, it’s a super welcoming queer space, and then also just having an outdoor space to go to is super refreshing,” Green said.
The outdoor aspect is a huge draw, and it fosters the sustainability piece of the owners’ vision by boosting the local ecosystem in an urbanized part of the city. Atiena Ouma is another regular at the Garden.
“It has a lot of native pollinators, and so you can see not only just all of the people of New Mexico coming together but also like all of the bees and the different buggies,” Ouma said.
At this point you might be wondering, who’s Grandma?
“So Grandma is our Dalmation, she’s almost two years old, but I do think she has an old soul,” Cruz said.
“She does have an old soul for sure. And it kind of feels like she’s all of our dog, like she’s all of our grandma,” Solis added.
Cruz adopted Grandma after his 14-year-old Dalmation, Pongo, passed away. Solis made a drink named after the old pup to honor his life, and the group named the coffee trailer after Grandma to welcome a new chapter.
Their goal is to make Grandma’s Coffee Garden a space for all, whether you have two or four legs, to find safety, friendship, and yummy treats.
Curious about what Grandma’s Coffee Garden looks like? You can find a video of the space on our social media @KUNMnews.
