After Two Years of Delays, Migas Coffee Is Now Pouring in Five Points

“We thought it would be a quick turnaround,” says Marisol Jurado, co-owner of Migas Coffee, which opened last month inside Green Spaces Market in Five Points. But it took more than two years to make this dream a reality.

The name Migas comes from the Spanish word “amigas,” meaning friends, which is fitting considering that two friends joined forces to open the coffee shop. Marisol Jurado and Alex Merriex, who were both born and raised in Denver, met while attending college at the University of Northern Colorado over a decade ago. After graduation, the two took different life paths — Jurado became a licensed marriage and family therapist, while Merriex works in finance — but they share a passion for creating community.

When Jurado became sober in 2018, she turned to coffee instead of alcohol. “When I got sober, I realized I didn’t have a good way to connect with people; coffee became the way. My friends have a saying: ‘If the latte is right, Mari is there every night,’ because when people wanted to hang out, we’d go for coffee — that’s kind of how it started,” she recalls. She grew to enjoy coffee so much that in 2021, she became a part-time barista at Novo Coffee.

The experience affirmed her desire to open a coffee shop of her own. “I had so much fun connecting with people, getting to know people. I fell in love with it,” she says. “As a therapist, you develop relationships that are deep and meaningful, but it takes time. As a barista, the relationships are quick and not as deep, but they're impactful, and you hopefully brighten [people's] day.” The connections she made with people over coffee helped her maintain her sobriety and inspired her to build a coffee shop where others can build relationships of their own.
Green Spaces began as a co-working establishment, but in 2022, owner Javon Taylor reimagined the plan to incorporate retail units and a coffee shop, with a priority for Black and Brown small-business owners who may not otherwise be able to afford rent in the area.

After connecting with Jurado and Merriex, plans began coming together for Migas. Originally, the team set a goal of opening in the fall of 2022, but because the building was zoned as a commercial office, issues with licensing and architect plans delayed that schedule. “Even just submitting requests to add a sink was a whole ordeal,” Jurado says. Although Green Spaces Market was able to open in April 2023, Migas still had to wait.

“It was a long year thinking we’ll open next month and next month,” Jurado recalls. “We were starting to lose steam," but Migas finally got approval to open in April this year. Jurado, who calls herself the “original barista baddie,” receives help behind the bar from a team of other barista baddies that includes her two sisters and her best friend.

In addition to standard coffee drinks like cortados, Americanos, drip coffee and cappuccinos, all made with Novo beans, Migas offers some signature drinks. The Barista Baddie, made with brown sugar, lavender and oat milk, is its best-selling latte. Another popular option is the Matcha Mami, with honey, agave and oat milk. Both can be made either hot or iced. The shop's limited food menu includes items from Dis Burrito and a selection of pastries.

One month after opening, Jurado still splits her time between being a therapist and a barista, but she feels grateful for the opportunity and excited for the future of Migas. “We hope that this is a starting space for us,” she concludes. “The space is quite large, but the Migas bar is quite small. We hope to outgrow it one day.”

Migas Coffee is located at 2590 Walnut Street and is open from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, including upcoming special events, follow @migascoffeeco on Instagram.