A transformative dining experience lives on Colorado Boulevard where customers can try a taste of Oaxacan cuisine with a California twist. Lola Cafe opened in July, according to owner Orlando Rodriguez and, the business has already made quite an impact on the Eagle Rock community.
“There’s been so much support from the people of Eagle Rock,” Rodriguez said. “People have been asking for T-shirts.”
Rodriguez said while he just planned on selling coffee the first day, a woman came in and he made her a breakfast burrito from his prototype menu.
“When she tried the burrito she said ‘Oh my god, what is that? That’s different,’” Rodriguez said. “She took a picture and posted it on Facebook, and the next morning we had a line of six or seven people outside the cafe.”
According to Rodriguez, his first experience in the culinary world began in Oaxaca, Mexico with his mother who he named the cafe after.
“My mom is a baker in Oaxaca. When I was five I started working with her,” Rodriguez said. “We would do everything by hand. I would wake up at like one in the morning to make bread by 6 a.m. Before I went to school I would make bread.”
Rodriguez said his mother has always been a source of encouragement and was overjoyed to hear the cafe was named after her.
“Before I came to California, she told me ‘Please, when you do something, do it hard.’ She said ‘You eat. Do it because you like to eat. You want to work? Do it because you like to work,’” Rodriguez said.
For his cafe, Rodriguez said he wanted to blend flavors from Oaxaca and California. According to Rodriguez, there are several exciting menu items such as Oaxaca Fries — which come with crushed grasshoppers on top — Chile Relleno Omelette and Ribeye Enchiladas which includes his mother’s mole sauce recipe.
“In Oaxaca, we have a lot of different styles of food, and it is very rich in flavor,” Rodriguez said. “When I came to California, and before I opened Lola’s, I loved fresh food. I loved breakfast style, brunch style and all California food. But I thought, ‘It needs something, like more flavor,’ so that’s what the fusion is, Oaxaca and California.”
Rodriguez said he started working in kitchens around LA once he moved here.
“I have lived 10 years in California, I’ve cooked for many different chefs and different restaurants,” Rodriguez said.
According to Rodriguez, he trains his employees to have passion for their craft and said that he hopes each one is excited about what they are making.
“I train everyone to cook with passion, to do it because you enjoy it,” Rodriguez said.
Cashier and barista Chrystal Stout said working with Rodriguez has been great. She said that he is a great boss and does an excellent job of training his employees.
“He really teaches you everything,” Stout said.
According to Stout, the community has been her favorite part of working at Lola Cafe.
“You meet a lot of people and you see them every day; you get to be a part of making people’s day by providing them with a good experience,” Stout said. “Everyone is smiling when they walk out the door, they are nodding when they are eating and saying ‘Oh, man this is so good, thank you so much.’ People really like it and it’s really nice to be able to be a part of that experience.”
Valerie Brown, the founder of Eagle Rock Community Acupuncture, said that she has become a regular at Lola Cafe and is happy to have it in the neighborhood.
“I’ve been here for 15 years. Every restaurant that has been here has closed because it was not the right restaurant,” Brown said. “It’s nice to have something that has taken off, and the food is great.”
Brown said she enjoys the unique flavors at Lolas Cafe including enchiladas and the carnitas tacos.
“It’s gorgeous food; it’s tasty and fresh,” Brown said. “Eagle Rock is getting a lot of good restaurants and this is one of them.”
Contact Felisa Duff at fduff@oxy.edu
