Tucson's popular, James Beard-nominated Barista del BarrioΒ has opened a second location in midtown.
In social media posts, the coffee and breakfast burrito restaurant described the opening Saturday at Borderlands Sam Hughes, 2500 E. Sixth St., as a "pop-up."
"Technically, we're like a pop-up, but permanently, hopefully," said Flavia Briones, who started the restaurant in early 2017 with her children, Ariana and Sergio.
Barista del Barrio Sam Hughes will serve a streamlined menu of coffees and grilled burritos, most of which will be prepared from the flagship location at 1002 N. Grande Ave. and assembled in the Borderlands kitchen, said Flavia Briones' niece, Jessica Sims. The restaurant will operate Wednesday-Sunday mornings, while Borderlands will be open in the afternoons.Β Β
The Borderlands/Barista del Barrio collaboration has been months in the making since Borderlands co-owner Jose Delgado pitched the idea to Briones and her team in early fall.Β
"When I first approached them, it wasn't really the right timing," he said. "And so I tried again."
Whatever had been blocking the collaboration earlier was resolved in recent weeks, "and it didn't actually take very long for us to be on the same page and agree that it would be a very good fit."
The collaboration is part of Delgado's vision for Borderlands Sam Hughes, which he and partners Rogelio Quintero and Adrian Perez took over from the former Borderlands Brewing Co. last August. Delgado said the goal is to create collaborations that will transform Borderlands into a neighborhood gathering placeΒ and provide products people love.
When he and his family were spit-balling ideas, his twenty-something children mentioned Barista del Barrio.Β
"They don't live with us anymore but every time they come, they love to go stand in line over there," said Delgado, who also confessed a love for Briones's food and coffee.
Barista del Barrio has a legion of fans who don't mind the long lines. The restaurant has landed on several Yelp "best of" lists, including being named 53rd among "America's Top 100 Places to Eat in 2020," best brunch in Arizona last year, and the coveted James Beard nomination in 2024.Β
But the second location will help relieve the long waits at the Grande location, said Sims, who started working with her aunt when Barista del Barrio started as a food cart.
On Saturday, the day they opened the Borderlands pop-up and reopened Grande after a two-week holiday break, a line at least 15 deep was constant throughout the day. It was so busy they put up a sign near the ordering window warning that the wait for orders was 15 minutes.
"We're hoping by adding this space that we're going to be able to get things out faster to people," Sims said.
Briones said customers at Sam Hughes on Saturday welcomed her to the neighborhood.
"They were like, 'We're so excited; you're closer now'," she said.Β
One woman told her that word of Barista del Barrio coming to Sam Hughes "is the best news I've heard all year."
Briones didn't want to tell her that it was just the third day of the year.
Barista Sam Hughes is open the same hours as the Grande restaurant: 7 a.m. to noon Wednesdays-Fridays and 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays and Sundays.
Borderlands is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Sundays-Wednesdays and 4 to midnight Thursdays-Saturdays.Β
