Coffee With Alo celebrates one year of Sisterhood and Belonging

Smiles, laughs, and friendship stretched across the twenty-something faces that filled the front room of Mezcal Mexican Restaurant in Midtown to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the community building-coffee centered meet-ups that have connected young women–mostly latinas–across Metro Detroit. 

For those of you who don’t know Alondra Alvarez she is a native Southwest Detroiter. She is an influencer, who social media-lites might recognize her from her TikTok presence as @justcallmeAlo or her deeply rooted involvement to community through education as a previous education interventionist for Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD). Coming from a background of family businesses like Alvarez’s Party Store (which her father runs) and Cafecito Alvarez (which is her sister’s mobile coffee business) community means a lot to Alvarez.

“I started this a year ago, and it

was just an idea to bring women together. I did a lot of content that was coffee-focused, and in my comments I kept seeing people say, ‘I want to go there,’ or ‘I never have anyone to get coffee with’, said Alvarez.  “That got me thinking.. I realized adulthood can be lonely. So I wanted to create a space for people to connect.”

And it worked. 

“I moved from California to Michigan about a year ago. I really wanted to find community — girlhood, adult friends — but I didn’t know where to start. And right when I was thinking about that, Alo showed up on my TikTok feed. That felt like a sign,” said Blanca Diaz, from Macomb County.

For Diaz, Coffee With Alo was her first introduction to Michigan and for her it has made her more optimistic about the world. 

With Alvarez’s big leap into looking for community, she couldn’t begin to fathom how fast a year has come and gone but more importantly how much her meets-up have been a third place for women, from Detroit to Macomb to Dearborn to Taylor. 

From the first meet-up only bringing in six people to more recently 16 and now 20+ in attendance to celebrate one-year.. These coffee meet-ups have been nothing short of empowering. 

“I’m definitely a more anxious person, so this has tested my ability to put myself out there. Coming to these events helped me expand my social skills, start conversations, and meet new people. Plus, there’s unity in being Latino — it’s something beautiful. Especially today, it’s important to have that reminder,” said Ivanna Ortega.

And what better way to connect than over cafecito, right? 

“Coffee is culturally relevant for us — in the Latino community we bond over café. My sister has a coffee business, and we drink coffee every day. Some women who come have kids — and while cocktails can be fun, not everyone drinks. But everyone can have coffee,’ said Alvarez .

A big part of Coffee With Alo is of course building community but that includes bridging the gap between community and small businesses. Connecting people to new and old businesses that are expanding all over the Metro-Detroit Area. Alvarez makes it a part of each event to host at a different coffee house or cafe so that they may receive exposure and the return from businesses have been plentiful. 

For her one-year anniversary event, businesses she’s worked with, and some who love her mission, donated prizes for games and raffles that were played, services, and supported hosting. The list goes as follows:

• Mezcal Mexican Restaurant
• D’lola Skin and Wellness
• Cafecito Alvarez 
• K & D pastries 
• Pine Coast cafe 
• The Gems by Ana 
• Adriana Alvarez beauty 
• Qazzaz coffee

Coffee With Alo will continue to build community and build bridges across Metro-Detroit. So, if you’re looking for a place to be authentically yourself and want to branch out of your comfort zone this might just be for you.