By Megan Bocchinfuso –
La Gloria Mexican Coffee, which opened a month ago at 453 Parliament Street, is run by brothers Saul and David Navarro from Monterey, Mexico. It offers authentic imported Mexican coffee, meals and snacks.
Saul was an entrepreneur in his youth and sold candy outside elementary schools in Mexico with his brother. A few years later as a teenager, he started a karaoke business that expanded and was quite successful. At just 19 years old Saul enrolled at the prestigious TecMilenio University, and was offered a job as a business advisor at the institution.
After this, Saul grew into many other business roles while learning a great deal. His life motto was “One good idea can change your mind and change your life.”
When Saul moved to Toronto, he was the financial advisor and eventual store manager at Mexican restaurant La Cevicheria Bar & Grill in Kensington Market.
“Mix your skills with your passion. That is the way that you’re going to grow a business with your talent,” Saul says. “Everyone has a skill for things you need. You need to mix your talent with your passion.”
Brother David, who also has an extensive business background, moved to Toronto with Saul. It was David’s idea to open a coffee shop with Saul, which he exclaimed one day while they were biking on the lakeshore.
The brothers wanted “not only a coffee shop” but an inclusive, educational, cultural and emotional space. “We want to express a place where people know they have support,” David said.
La Gloria imports coffee every six weeks from Mexico that comes in three different flavours: Café Puro Tostado y Molido, Café Solo Dios, and Tostado y Molido.
They offer a traditional Mexican breakfast called “Breakfast Glory,” with eggs, fruit salad, molletes (bread with beans), guacamole and crema. Also on the menu are waffles, a Mexican-style sandwich, chilaquiles (fried corn tortillas) and a ya’ax salad (lettuce, chicken, vegetables, guacamole and crema.) Every meal comes with their speciality coffee.
Saul and David educate customers about the Indigenous Mexican art on the walls, and let each customer sample their three kinds of coffee.
The traditional way to drink coffee is with a Gloria, a Mexican snack made with nuts and fruit – and the inspiration for the store’s name. Saul recalls going away on weekends to cottages with his family, and they would always stop to buy Glorias.
The Navarro brothers obtain their snacks from local Latino vendors. Their pastries are from Awa Yael bakery, a Latino living in Toronto.
David and Saul are passionate about supporting Latinos and Canadians alike. They “want everyone to come here and feel comfortable.”
