A new coffee shop devoted to kindness has opened in Montrose. La La Land Kind Cafe is now serving lattes and more at the Montrose Collective, the new mixed-use destination near the intersection of Montrose and Westheimer.
Touted as "the most aesthetic, insta-worthy cafe in Houston," La La Land offers an extensive selection of coffee, teas, and organic food items. It's the company's second Houston location, joining a store in the M-K-T mixed-use development. It also has locations in Los Angeles and Dallas.
Turning to the food, La La Land offers a variety of toasts, including avocado, truffle burrata, honey strawberry. Grab-and-go items include chia seed pudding and overnight oats.
The extensive selection of drinks starts with 10 signature lattes such as the la la latte with honey, the upside down latte with caramel drizzle, and the purple rain latte with lavender and CBD. Six reserve teas in a range of flavors are brewed to order.
Alternatively, customers may opt for one of 12 signature matcha lattes that come in the same range of flavors as the coffee-based drinks. They're made with a ceremonial grade matcha that's imported from Japan.
As for the kindness aspect, La La Land hires former foster children and prepares them for their future with an eight-week program that includes life skills, on-the-job training, customer service training, mentorship, and more. Beverage sleeves drive some of these points home with sayings such as "Be Kind," "Just Love Each Other," and "Normalize Kindness."
La La Land founder Francois Reihani also founded a companion non-profit called the We Are One Project. Like the cafe, it helps businesses find ways to employ people who have aged out of the foster care system. CultureMap Dallas describes Reihani as a "wunderkind" who helped introduce poke to the city in 2016 with a restaurant called Pok the Raw Bar.
A look inside the new La La Kind at the Montrose Collective.
Houston artist Briks painted the restaurant's mural.Courtesy of Ramen Tatsu-ya
