An up-and-coming eatery in downtown Sioux Falls is shooting for the moon with its creative menus and inclusive atmosphere.
Siblings Tatiana and Salvador Jaimes manage La Luna Café, which is owned by their parents, Edith and Salvador. Tatiana and Edith had been dreaming of opening their own eatery for almost three years, and they finally opened the doors to La Luna in mid-October.
“The goal with our food is for it to look good, instagrammable, but also taste good.” Salvador Jaimes
Tatiana says she wanted to name the family business La Luna (Spanish for moon) to reflect the family’s heritage.
“I came up with it and I just thought ‘that’s fun, the moon,’” she said. “I wanted it to be in Spanish so people can get an idea that this isn’t just an American coffee shop, there’s something behind it.”
The Jaimes work to make La Luna’s food delicious and innovative, while also transforming their eatery into a gathering space for the community and the thriving arts scene.
“My mom and I were the visionaries of La Luna, and we were set on having a very artistic place where we wanted to invite the community to showcase their talents while enjoying a gathering space that celebrates them,” said Tatiana. “That’s why we hang up a bunch of local art, and why we try to be inclusive in our menus to make sure that most people are able to eat here.”
Tatiana says she wanted to make the café a fun and welcoming environment for customers, and for folks living and working at the mixed-use Cascade at Falls Park building in downtown Sioux Falls.
One of the most popular drinks at La Luna is the Cha Cha Latte, which ties back to the Jaimes’ family’s El Salvadorean roots.
“It’s based off of a staple Hispanic drink that’s rice milk, very sweet and cinnamon-y,” said Tatiana. “We wanted to incorporate part of our heritage into what La Luna is. That’s why that is one of our favorites here.”
A TASTE OF LA LUNA
COFFEE
Café Americano
ESPRESSO
Mochaccino
FRAPPES
Oreo
LATTES
Dirty Chai
SALADS
Avocado Chicken
TOASTS
Rose Garden (BLT)
PIZZA
Pork Belly Pizza
WAFFLES
Horchata Waffle
LUNCH
Pineapple Chicken
La Luna also serves espresso milkshakes, specialty lattes, and more unique coffee concoctions. Their house latte, La Luna Latte, is made with white chocolate and raspberry flavors. One other staple latte is the Ay Caramba! Latte, which is mixed with turmeric, ginger, and honey.
“When you taste it, you want to say ‘oh my gosh,’” said Salvador. “It’s not a typical coffee flavor, especially because of the ginger and turmeric mix. It makes it kind of a spicy drink, but it’s also sweet, due to the honey.”
La Luna offers a variety of waffles, including the Nutella Waffle.
“This is our most fun and interactive waffle, because you get your own syringe and you can decide to inject it like our chefs have done, or you can drizzle it on top, or just eat it right out of the syringe,” said Tatiana.
Besides waffles, the eatery features toast, open-face sandwiches, pizza, and more. The Jaimes’ worked with chef Micah Abraham to develop the menu.
Toast options include the Caprese Avocado, which Tatiana recommends for any time of day.
La Lune started offering lunch features this winter, like Pineapple Chicken.
“We make the guacamole in-house, and we just chop up fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil leaves and drizzle a balsamic glaze on top,” she said.
They also serve Green Eggs & Ham! toast, featuring caramelized bacon with brown sugar, cheddar cheese as a base, sliced boiled eggs, and they mix the egg yolks with the house guacamole. Then it’s topped with house salsa and cilantro.
The Pollo Loco toast features chicken salad with a twist. Abraham infuses the mayonnaise with ginger and orange zest, mixes it with baked chicken, sets it on a light salad, and sprinkles it with candied pecans.
“It has very unique flavor profiles that surprisingly work together,” said Tatiana. “It has an interesting spice to it, but it’s not spicy.”
Edith’s idea for the Bacon Sunrise Breakfast pizza brings a fresh take on breakfast, with pizza dough, sour cream, caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese, a cracked egg on top, and bacon bits.
“I have it eight days a week,” joked Salvador.
For more information, visit Facebook.com.
