With the rise in popularity of matchas and teas, the Isla Tea Lounge, located in Downtown Fresno, has carved its own unique path that sets it apart from the others.

The local shop boils down to three core aspects – food, drinks and community engagement.

Co-Owners Makayla Lo and Alicia Lieu opened up their shop around eight months ago. Both Lo and Lieu have experience in big cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They saw something missing in Fresno that those cities had and decided to fill the void.

“Seeing things that exist elsewhere, why could we not have it here in Fresno?” Lo said. “We’re just trying to bring in bigger things to a growing place.”

They host a plethora of events, ranging from arts and crafts, journaling, education, yoga, music and more. Many are free to attend and welcome all ages. The goal is to expand what Fresno has to offer.

Lieu said that they want to save people from needing trips out of town to find community events that resonate with them.

“We want these events that have been popping out to be accessible to the Fresno area without having to make an extensive daytrip up north or south,” Lieu said.

Employees are encouraged to plan out nights and events along with local artists, entrepreneurs and their customers.

“I feel like here, people have these ideas but then they ask ‘where are we gonna do it’ and I think that’s where we come in,” Lieu said.

Isla Tea Lounge has a laid-back and welcoming environment. The natural lighting that peaks through the stained glass highlights the customer-made artwork on display.

There are several activities and games towards the back of the lounge for anyone to use. This includes coloring books, novels, painting and card games.

The idea behind those activities is to help people wind down from the realities of life, even if there isn’t an event planned.

“People are going through a lot of self-worth issues and deal with the seriousness of life,” Lieu said. “I feel like when you step in here and do such activities, you turn the autopilot switch off.”

The food that they offer was originally meant to serve as the backdrop to the community and deep conversations, though many patrons have ended up coming for the food and drinks themselves.

Marley Ramirez is a second-time customer who had come once before with her family and fell in love with the quality of food and service.

“I am a big lover of tea, so I think the variety of tea and the way they serve it traditionally, I really enjoy that,” Ramirez said.

Another customer raved about their matcha, which is made fresh with each order, along with the rest of their menu items.

“I was just excited and wanted to try it because I’ve never had good matcha,” said Rome Rodriguez, a first-time customer. “It’s really good here, though.”

This mixture of environment, service and food quality epitomizes the caring local brick and mortar ideology that has become less frequent in recent years.

In the future, Lo and Lieu plan to continue hosting events and involving members of the community, as well as open a tea bar that has the same style as a regular counter-top bar, but without the need to be 21 years or older.