Aleja and Diego Bobadilla, owners of Bacata coffee shop that specializes in Colombian coffee.
Inside the cozy café, with a jungle scene featuring Columbian flora and fauna adorning the walls.
Patio season: coming soon! Bacata’s seasonal patio is a quiet escape just steps from Bronson.
Photos: Nicolas Ortiz
Bacata – where coffee and community meet
By Sue Stefko
Siblings Diego and Aleja Bobadilla came to Canada from Colombia about two years ago with the intention of setting up a coffee shop. Bacata is proof they succeeded, but it wasn’t easy.
As newcomers without an established business track record, it was difficult to find a property owner willing to rent to the young entrepreneurs. The search ultimately brought them to 684 Bronson Avenue, owned by the person who ran the previous restaurant, PIZA. While the building itself is for sale, the owner has said that he’ll ensure their lease is protected. The location doesn’t have the foot traffic and mainstreet vibe they hoped for, but it is close to the Glebe, Dow’s Lake, Little Italy and Carleton University, and they could see the area’s potential.
They named the shop Bacata, the Indigenous name for their hometown in Bogotá. Meaning “field of cultivation,” the name reflects ideas of growth, cultivation and resilience, a fitting symbol for both their Colombian roots and their journey as new business owners.
Even before opening, the business generated significant buzz on social media, particularly among local Colombians who were nostalgic for pandebono (cheese buns) and chocolate santafereño (hot chocolate with cheese). When I did open in January 2025, the coffee shop was packed, largely with Colombians eager for a taste of home. The response was so strong that Aleja and Diego briefly considered pivoting from their original vision as a coffee shop to focus more heavily on Colombian comfort foods and treats.
Ultimately, they stayed with their original idea, a decision that proved fortunate as the initial wave of nostalgia began to fade. New customers came from the surrounding neighbourhood, along with lovers of fine coffee from across the city.
“Colombian coffee is complex, naturally sweet with a bright acidity, thanks to Colombia’s high elevation, volcanic soil and humid climate,” says Aleja, noting that Bacata is the city’s only café that exclusively sells Colombian beans. They come from a single, family-run farm, where cherries are hand-picked at peak ripeness to ensure consistent quality.
The beans are then carefully roasted at Bacata, with close attention paid to temperature, timing and airflow to achieve what the team considers the perfect roast. The medium roast avoids bitterness while preserving acidity, fruitiness and the bean’s natural flavours.
The siblings see their beans as the key to future growth, particularly given the café’s limited size. They are exploring additional roasting spaces that would allow them to increase volume without sacrificing their painstaking attention to detail and quality. This, they hope, will expand online bean sales and help toward their long-term goal of selling across Canada. They’re also using Uber Eats to expand sales beyond the café’s limited space.
Perhaps due to its small footprint, the shop exudes a warm, cozy vibe. The café was completely renovated after its brief stint as PIZA in 2024, with hand-painted jungle scenes evoking Diego and Aleja’s homeland. Images of native fauna, such as jaguars and hummingbirds, alongside orchids, Colombia’s national flower, bring the walls to life. In the summer months, a patio, a rare amenity for businesses in this neighbourhood, helps extend the café’s capacity.
Community is central to the duo’s vision. The café’s website was created by Nicolas Ortiz, another Colombian, who also manages its social media presence alongside his partner Andrea Cárdenas Gaviria. Ortiz offered to build the website free of charge to gain exposure, a collaboration Aleja sees as two businesses helping each other grow. The artist behind the murals and the café’s two part-time staff are also members of the Latin American community.
The sense of community also extends to the neighbourhood – a year after opening, “local residents still come by and welcome us to the neighbourhood,” says Aleja, who describes herself as “the co-founder, CEO, head baker and chief dishwasher” – a familiar reality in small businesses. She and her brother have fully embraced the area, moving to Chinatown to be closer to the café. On days when the long hours allow, Aleja walks to work and finds moments of calm in Commissioner’s Park, along the O-Train path or by Dow’s Lake, appreciating the diverse greenspace that the neighbourhood offers.
As Bacata enters its second year, Aleja is committed to nurturing a space where great coffee, cultural pride and community connection continue to come together.
Sue Stefko is vice president of the Glebe Annex Community Association and a regular contributor to the Glebe Report.