LatinA Flavor Café Brings Salvadoran and Caribbean Food to Thornton Library

LatinA Flavor Café & Catering, a Salvadoran and Puerto Rican café tucked inside the entryway of Thornton’s Anythink Wright Farms Library, blends family recipes with a community-gathering space. Sisters Odila and Karen Colato, along with their friend Melba Velazquez, opened the café in June 2025 after merging their two businesses, Sivar Café, a Salvadoran food truck and catering company, and Tres Leches Treats, a dessert venture.

“I always said to my mom, ‘If we are going to start a business, it has to be about food,’” Odila said. 

The café serves a modest but diverse menu featuring traditional Salvadoran pupusas, Caribbean-inspired dishes and desserts such as tres leches, flan and fresas con crema, along with coffee and refreshing aguas frescas. Located at 5877 E. 120th Ave. inside the library, LatinA Flavor Café operates Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Odila operates the cafe during the weekdays, while her sister and friend, Velazquez, work other jobs. Behind the scenes, however, their mother, Gloria de Colato, prepares much of the food and assists with the cooking and preparation.

“She cooks almost everything,” Odila said. “We couldn’t do it without her.” 

Growing up, Odila remembers friends and relatives frequently asking her mother to cook for family gatherings. Coworkers would even offer to pay Gloria for home-cooked lunches. Her mother’s passion for cooking eventually inspired Odila’s own love of food.

“[My mother] always said, ‘Don’t cook because you have to, but because you want to love people through good food,’” she said.

Odila emigrated to the United States about 11 years ago from El Salvador, where she worked as an accountant. After moving to Colorado and going through a divorce, she said she knew she needed a fresh start. With help from her family, she and Karen launched Sivar Café, a Salvadoran food truck and catering company specializing in pupusas, thick corn tortillas filled with ingredients like cheese, beans or pork.

After about a year in business, the sisters were looking for a way to merge their businesses and came across the ideal opportunity: Anythink Wright Farms Library. The library had just opened applications to run a cafe, and Odila, Karen, and Velazquez proposed the LatinA Flavor Café. 

“I couldn’t believe it,” Odila said. “It was just what we had wanted.” 

The opportunity came with both advantages and unexpected challenges. For instance, students from a nearby middle school frequently stop by the café, occasionally asking for free snacks or drinks. Some even try to grab items from the counter. 

Odila has since adjusted how the café operates. She now keeps utensils, sugar, cream and food items behind the counter and locks the drink refrigerator located in the lobby.

“It’s just what I have to do,” Odila said. “I can’t trust them.” 

The library setup also poses logistical challenges. Because the space lacks a full kitchen, most meals must be prepared ahead of time and reheated in a small countertop oven. Despite these challenges, LatinA Flavor Café has quickly become a popular meeting place within the library.

“It’s very lovely to have something for the staff and public to eat here,” said Diana Rios, a library clerk at Anythink Wright Farms.

The café’s tables regularly fill with library visitors, school groups and community programs. Several groups, including ABLE, a day program that supports adults with disabilities, often stop by the library for crafts, games, reading and social activities.

Neri Gomez, a Denver resident who visits the library through the program, says the café is a welcome addition. “We do buy snacks from the café sometimes,” Gomez said. “It’s nice that it’s right there if anyone gets hungry.”

The café also hosts occasional community events to share its culture and food traditions. In September, the owners organized a public demonstration showing visitors how they prepare pupusas on countertop griddles.

“That was really engaging for the community,” Rios said. “It was such a success for them.” 

Now the owners are preparing for their next step. LatinA Flavor Café is planning a second location inside Anythink’s newest library branch, scheduled to open in Commerce City in August. Running two cafés will necessitate a larger operation, as well as an increase in the family’s workload.

“We will have to double everything,” Odila said with a laugh. “It’s great, but I know the challenges.”