A community space: How Pilar Westell has transformed Zendo Coffee into a spot for regulars

Everything was shut down when the pandemic hit, including Zendo Coffee, but the Downtown-area shop opened its doors every morning to one particular customer.

It was an 83-year-old woman who for years had been a regular visitor, arriving every morning to drink an espresso (she brought her own cinnamon), visit with friends and read the newspaper that owner Pilar Westell subscribed to, especially for her.

Zendo had a takeout window during COVID times, but Westell welcomed Susie inside “because she didn’t have any family here. We became the best of friends.”

Creating a caring, engaging atmosphere is what Westell had in mind when Zendo opened nearly 12 years ago, and she appears to have been hugely successful. She has a round of regular fans who come to visit her and to see their fellow coffee drinkers.

“I think it’s become this community space … where people just kind of gravitate for whatever reason,” Westell says. “It allows us to connect in this way that everyone’s really hungry for.”

Westell feels strongly about supporting others in the way they have supported her since she left her job as a veterinary technician and opened the business, living in the space upstairs as a single mother.

Zendo’s white brick walls are host to a rotating display of local artists, with art openings, snacks and coffee the first Friday of every month. She provides donated coffee to the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center several times a month, and gift cards for teachers at the nearby Dolores Gonzales Elementary School.

“If a couple of boxes of coffee … helps you get through a meeting or helps you get through whatever, well, I think it’s important to try and help people,” Westell says. “In the same way everybody comes to support you, you have to find ways to give back.”

What’s your favorite Zendo drink?

I love them all. I feel like our menu is constantly evolving. Right now, we have an ube latte I’m obsessed with. It’s this purple root vegetable kind of situation. It kind of looks like taro. We add two shots of espresso to the syrup that we make from scratch with ube powder.

Why did you open a coffee shop?

I think the idea was I wanted to do something that was going to bring people together. I’ve worked in restaurants, bars, the food industry most of my life. At 15, I was a busser at the Range in Bernalillo, my first job. I wanted to continue doing something that was going to allow me to connect with my community, and it just seemed like that was going to be the best way. And it was. It turned out to be absolutely phenomenal.

What do you wish you had known when you first started?

I wish I had known just my own strengths. And not to make this about me because it’s not just about me, but I don’t think going into this, that I knew how tenacious I was or how resilient I was going to end up being. I went from being a shell in a relationship that was absolutely terrible … to being sort of this very strong and capable woman who has successfully run a business for 12 years.

What’s been a difficult problem for you?

I think sometimes it can feel very isolating to be a small business owner. I can’t give you a specific situation, but I think there’s multiple times where I just don’t know … if (something) is the right thing. I wish there was more support for things to do with the unhoused community. I feel like we need more resources for folks to be able to use public restrooms and for food and for safety issues. I think that’s something that we deal with on a daily basis. How do we navigate being generous and trying to be kind, but also keeping ourselves safe and making sure that our space is safe and not really having a lot of support?

What are your pet peeves?

I hate it when people come into my shop on their cell phones. I think it’s a sign of the times, but I don’t like it. Get off your phone and then order and let me talk to you and let’s be humans.

What worries you?

I think coffee prices are at a 50-year high. My roaster has had to raise their prices to me almost three times in the last six or seven months because the green beans are just so expensive right now. It’s not an easy decision to have to say I’m going to have to raise prices on my drinks 50 cents. And then all the stuff that’s happening in the political climate with tariffs. It’s something that wakes me up in the middle of the night. What does this look like for the future of coffee? And then all the other products that we get from all over?

What are your most popular drinks?

Probably a toss-up between the Zia latte, which has white or dark chocolate and cinnamon. It comes with two shots of espresso and any kind of milk you’d like, steamed or iced. The other is Turkish latte, which is honey, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves.

What do you do in your free time?

I’m learning how to fly fish. I never in a million years thought that would be something I would enjoy. It’s just such a Zen thing — you’re in the water, you don’t have to talk. And it’s very technical. It appeals to my brain.

Any thoughts of expanding Zendo?

It would be lovely to have a second location, but I think focusing on just how we continue to connect with community is probably my main focus at this point. And having more events. I was just thinking how fun it would be to have a kids’ book exchange once it warms up on the patio.

What’s your advice for budding entrepreneurs?

Be ready and willing to give your entire being to it. It’s going to be all-consuming, but I think it’s fantastic. I wish everybody would open up small businesses. I think it’s what makes Albuquerque such a special place. It’s where I want to be.