In every coming-of-age movie or TV show, there’s always the cafe. The cafe where students meet after school to gossip while completing AP Lit homework and the cafe where the protagonist meets the cute girl she later asks out on a date. For every main character at Glendora High School, Pressed + Flower is becoming the cafe.
Between its variety of international snacks to its “Livin my best life” flower wall, Pressed + Flower exudes a certain wholesome energy that is incomparable to the hundreds of cafes I’ve visited in Los Angeles. As the door swings open, the decorated mint green walls with the hanging ceiling light bulbs screams the beginning of “Daylight” by Harry Styles.
Although Pressed + Flower officially opened early July of 2022, owner and founder Laura Nawaya signed the lease for the place two days before the world went into lockdown in 2020. Nawaya described the first few weeks to be difficult with managing working hours as an emerging small business.
“It was more so not wanting to overwhelm my employees, not wanting to overwhelm myself, feeling out the customers, and making better mistakes every day,” reflected Nawaya, “That’s what I love to say, every day was a mistake but we were making better mistakes as days went by.”
To Nawaya, the name “Pressed + Flower” represents more than just freshly pressed coffee and flower petal teas. On the left wall of the cafe, a boutique of plants, homemade jams, stickers, and postcards complete the small business ambience.
“The boutique side of it is giving people something to do while they’re here. Sometimes I notice people are studying for an hour or two and they stand up and look at our affirmation cards for a good vibe,” Nawaya said. “It’s not necessarily for them to buy something. Some of it is just to cheer people up or take a picture and send it to somebody.”
Beyond the limitless source of caffeine and its warm collection of homemade goods, Pressed + Flower represents a deeper connection to the community of small businesses.
“For me, I’m providing shelves for people to represent themselves.”
Nawaya hopes to keep things changing in the cafe and continue her relationships with local vendors. From pop up shops to music events to handcrafted salads, exciting projects await the future of Pressed + Flower.
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