Mari Ramos fulfills her dream by opening Bytes Café, a unique anime-themed coffee shop in a northwest shopping center, with family support.
SAN ANTONIO — It was Mari Ramos’ lifelong dream – a dream that became a reality when Bytes Café opened its doors a few months ago.
At its core, Bytes Café is a one-of-a-kind coffee shop based in a northwest-side shopping center. The shop is run by an entire family with Mari at the helm, along with help from her brother Jrmia, her extended family and soldiers who served in the Army with Jrmia.
“It’s a real collaborative effort,” Jrmia said.
The tight-knit crew works day in and day out, determined to keep Mari’s dream alive – something she’s wanted since they were kids.
“Her love for business [started when] she was like four or five. She wanted to own her own mall. I remember drawing diagrams of malls, clothing stores, thrift shops, all the different kinds of stores,” Jrmia said.
But coffee became a big part of Mari’s life after she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
“And to deal with like headaches and stuff she got into caffeine and like coffee being a big thing for her, she kind of fell in love with it,” Jrmia said.
The caffeine craze first started with Mari buying beans locally and eventually shaped into Bytes Café.
So, the family began thinking of ways to make the business stand out – and it does.
“Just the visual, like when you walk in you get to see this wall of anime, you’re greeted at the front door with a couch, a nice, comfortable area with like our vintage stuff. And you can see all the desserts on display. The windows are plastered with anime stuff. Just the overall openness of the shop, I feel like is pretty different compared to most coffee shops,” Jrmia said.
And at Bytes Café, the Ramos family is hyper-focused on customer satisfaction.
“We’re really big on welcoming everybody in. We want everybody to feel welcome when they come here. But it’s just a cool place to hang out. You don’t have to get something to eat or don’t have to get something to drink. We offer free wi-fi. It’s a safe, comfortable space, just a place you can feel at home,” Jrmia said.
“Or, if you do want to come somewhere where you can get work done, study, play games and relax and you don’t necessarily have that stuff at home, you can come here and do that.”
And when it comes to the most important part – the drinks, Bytes Café offers a regular drink menu and specialty menu that’s rotated quite frequently. Many of their signature drinks are inspired from their personalities, favorite shows and hobbies.
“We’re getting really innovative in the kitchen,” Jrmia said while laughing.
Their matcha flavors are highly praised by customers with various flavors like blueberry, strawberry and banana pudding – that latter of which is constantly ordered.
Bytes Café also hosts special events throughout the week and makes customized drinks, desserts and sandwiches related to the events including “The Summer I Turned Pretty” watch parties.
But Jrmia said their sandwiches are the hidden gems of the café.
“Do not pass up on our sandwiches. Come hungry please,” Jrmia said. “My favorite is going to be the Habanero Hit man. It’s my dad’s specialty sandwich on the menu.”
Jrmia said the family is thankful for their customers and they hope to find their permanent footing as a new business in the Alamo City.
“We’re in the right direction,” Jrmia said.
For more about Bytes Café, click here.