Tucked Away on the corner of Roosevelt and 1st in Phoenix across the street from a Valley Metro light rail station is a small business filled with coffee, treats, art, and inspiration as many community members gather daily to celebrate Fair Trade Cafe.
Fair Trade Cafe has been a Phoenix favorite as they have been featured in the Phoenix New Times, DTPX, and even the NBA news and events page. As a former middle school science teacher from the Maryvale area, Stephanie Vasquez took over the retail space to create Fair Trade Cafe in 2007. It is now the longest-standing cafe owned by a Latina in the city of Phoenix. “When a person is driven by a passion nothing can stop them,” she said. The biggest mission of Fair Trade Cafe is sustainable coffee. This means only buying and selling coffee that has been grown and harvested by farms that pay their employees a living wage, have access to clean water, and otherwise work in a safe environment that allows for breaks, paid time off, and other things that many workers take for granted. Vasquez explained that she wasn’t aware that coffee was a plant until she visited Costa Rica and saw it being farmed. As she learned more about sustainable practices and the working conditions of many coffee farmers she learned more about what Fair Trade coffee really was. “I wanted to put at the forefront what our purchases could do,” she said. Currently, the cafe has partnered with a female-owned farm in Guatemala to make up 40% of the coffee sold at the cafe. Additionally, the coffee is shade-grown, with no deforestation. Above all, 100% of all coffee from Fair Trade is, quite literally, Fair Trade coffee. But the cafe doesn’t stop there in its sustainable practices. The business is one of many Certified Green Businesses of Phoenix as they hold a Platinum rating with over 40 sustainable actions being tracked by the city. These actions include recycling, energy saving, and socially sustainable practices like mandatory volunteering, buying in bulk, and following a diversity and equity framework project. The City of Phoenix also provides sustainability training for all Certified Green businesses. However, they still managed to find compostable straws that were shaped like hearts, a complement to their rose-themed February drinks. Like all businesses, Fair Trade Cafe has seen setbacks and losses. While the company used to have two storefronts, one location had to close due to construction on the light rail and the economic peril after the pandemic. Valley Metro’s Public Information Officer Juliana Vasquez-Keating released a statement that the team “proactively connects with businesses along construction corridors to provide construction updates, assist with concerns, and share information about resources and assistance available to them.” But the ultimate customer is one that becomes a friend. Elyssa Bustamante, also known as “The Funky Latina” began her time with Mujeres Mercado after being a customer at the Cafe. After looking for a cold brew and place to work, she came across a Latina-owned business that would later be a sponsor in The Funky Latina Music Festival. This year, the festival is sponsored by One AZ credit union and will help this year’s festival be the biggest of the past three years. It will be held in the Crescent Ballroom on March 30. But Vasquez also has fans right around the corner. Fair Trade’s Front of House Leader Jessica Baily enjoys working at the cafe for the community and the culture that the cafe represents. “Her aura is so badass,” Bailey said about Vasquez. After moving from Arizona to Colorado, Bailey had worked in corporate coffee chains and wanted a change of pace. After being a customer, she applied for a position as she enjoyed the local feel of a small business. “It was really important to me that we had a community space that highlighted showcased local artists,” she said. Vasquez will continue to work with other artists and creators in the community to maintain the culture of community that is cherished by so many. You can follow Fair Trade @fairtradecafeaz on Instagram or visit their website azfairtrade.com
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