Popular Mexican coffee shop in Phoenix to close after 12 years

Tres Leches Cafe, the long-running, popular Mexican coffee shop, will close its last Phoenix location for good by the end of the month, cafe owner José “E.T.” Rivera said. 

“We’ll stay open as long as we possibly can,” Rivera told Phoenix New Times, noting that the cafe will continue operating through September as long as he can pay staff. “We’re just playing things by ear.”

At the start of the year, the cafecito and pan dulce destination served customers from a drive-thru in South Phoenix and a shop in the Coronado neighborhood. Rivera started Tres Leches as a coffee cart in 2014 and moved into its first brick-and-mortar location in 2016. The cafe expanded to South Phoenix in February 2020, followed by a third Phoenix location in 2022, which closed the following year.

Earlier this month, Rivera announced that the drive-thru on South Central Avenue would shutter after service on Sept. 6. He shared that staff were moving to the Coronado cafe on McDowell Road and 13th Street and encouraged fans to stop in. 

“This summer has been our hardest summer, and it has been really, really slow,” Rivera said. 

Though most restaurants see a dip during these hot months, July is normally one of the busiest for Tres Leches Cafe, the owner said. This year proved otherwise, leaving them with few options. 

A week after announcing the closure in South Phoenix, Tres Leches posted again on social media, updating fans that it “will be closing all operations” after 12 years in business.

Pandemic challenges linger

Tres Leches Cafe garnered fans locally and was especially popular during the fall with customers visiting to contribute to its elaborate Dia de los Muertos altars. It even caught the eye of a former vice president. Rivera met Kamala Harris in 2022 at an event honoring small, Latino-owned businesses for their perseverance during the pandemic.

But challenges percolated in the background for the last several years. Rivera said the cafes have not recovered post-pandemic, and the business took on more than $1 million in debt during that time.

At the same time, a lease dispute between Rivera and the landlord of a former Phoenix location on 17th Avenue and Van Buren Street played out in court. In late 2023, the cozy, colorful cafe received notice from property owner Otilia Diaz to leave the building within five days. Rivera, meanwhile, was under the impression they were in the midst of renegotiating the lease of the building Tres Leches had occupied since 2018. 

“It really meant a lot for us to be there,” Rivera said. “I felt like I was fighting for something that mattered not only to the business but also for the customers and the community.”

Though the cafe received a temporary reprieve from the ouster, the Maricopa County Superior Court ultimately agreed with Diaz. Tres Leches departed from that location in early 2025 and opened in Coronado by the end of the year. 

This August, the case finally came to a close: Rivera was ordered to pay Diaz her attorney’s fees and costs, totaling more than $60,000. While that judgment stung, it didn’t sink the cafe, he said.

“That cost me some money, but it wouldn’t fix this summer,” Rivera said. 

The owner has filed for bankruptcy, he said, and is weighing what the future looks like as he grieves the loss of the cafe. 

Fans took to social media, asking Tres Leches to open in other parts of the Valley and sharing their favorite sips and bites they’d stop in for again before the cafe closes. 

“You have represented our cultura with the old-school vibes and some of the best pan dulce and tasty cafecitos,” Marisela Almeida wrote on Facebook with an emoji of the Mexican flag, adding that the customer service made her a return customer. “You all have left a great impact on the community, and I want you all to know you are appreciated.”

Though it’s hard to say goodbye, Rivera says he’s grateful for the support now and over the last 12 years.

“I’m glad I was able to create this very special, magical coffee shop,” he said. “It’s very nostalgic to (customers) and they have so much meaning. I’ve been crying with the customers off and on for the past week.”

Tres Leches Cafe

1302 E. McDowell Road