Two popular tours to craft cafes and murals across Laredo are entering the digital age as the Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau implemented the guided experiences into its Visit Laredo mobile app.
“We’re really excited. We invite everyone to become a tourist in their own community to find all of these gems and wonderful places in our community that make us a unique destination,” said LCVB Director Aileen Ramos. “We all carry our phones with us every day, so now we’re taking it to the next level and combining the Visit Laredo app with the wall map and the coffee shop map. I think it’s a great idea.”
Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau Director, Aileen Ramos, speaks at the announcement of tours being added to the Visit Laredo mobile application on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at Golondrina Food Park.
Jason Mack/Laredo Morning Times
The Laredo Coffee Tour first kicked off in January with a map distributed across the city highlighting 12 locations. In the months that followed, it grew to 16 businesses. The City Murals Guide was released shortly thereafter, showcasing 42 artworks across the city.
“We want our community to be our own tourists. You should explore your own community and what it offers,” said Noraida Negron, communications administrator for the city of Laredo. “That’s why they came up with this great idea with the murals and coffee tours. There was a map, and now we’re going to create it digitally so it’s easier and more user-friendly for everyone in our community.”
The Visit Laredo mobile app is available on both Apple and Android devices. It has interactive maps and directions, as well as the ability to track your visit. The coffee shops have a code that guests can scan to confirm their visit, and anyone taking the tour can go to the LCVB office on Salinas Ave. Visit 101 to get a souvenir.
“It makes it easier for tourists to visit our amazing city. These are great ideas and we should continue to encourage them,” said Dr. Victor Trevino, Mayor of Laredo. “Tourism is very important for the city of Laredo. It’s an economic driver. We have to see that as something important to us. It is a priority for the city of Laredo. This is especially true as we expect continued economic growth in Laredo.”
The Mayor of Laredo, Dr. Victor Trevino, speaks at the announcement of tours to be added to the Visit Laredo mobile application on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at the Golondrina Food Park.
Jason Mack/Laredo Morning Times
When the two tours were announced to be included in the app, Trevino was already looking at further possibilities.
“Hopefully this trend can continue and translate to some of our great historical sites,” he said. “Laredo is home to one of the oldest border crossings and historic areas along the US-Mexico border and is the first city to be chartered in the state of Texas.”
The announcement was made Tuesday, June 6th at Golondrina Food Park in front of Gloria’s Coffee Bar, one of the 16 stops on the coffee tour. Jennifer Cantu, owner of Gloria’s Coffee Bar, spoke about how the lack of unique local options got her started, and she’s thrilled that so many locations are now spread across the city and highlighted by the tour.
Jennifer Cantu, owner of Gloria’s Coffee Bar, speaks at the announcement of tours being added to the Visit Laredo mobile application on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at Golondrina Food Park.
Jason Mack/Laredo Morning Times
“One of my first goals in starting Gloria’s was to create something that people want to come out here and see, people from San Antonio, Austin and Houston, the big cities that we know from Texas that they see online and want to visit there,” Cantu said. “Now that we have something digital where anyone can access this information, they can see Laredo growing in ways we never expected.
“I’m pretty proud that the city is putting us in the spotlight, knowing that there are so many creative people here in the city and there are so many cafes now. That makes me very happy because we are all growing as a community.”
Representatives from several other stops on the tour were also in attendance, including Casa Blanca Specialty Coffee’s Dominic Rodriguez. He agreed with Cantu and talked about the boost the tour had given the business.
“We saw a lot of new faces walking into the store and saying, ‘We didn’t know this was here.’ “We had no idea there was a good coffee shop so close by, just around the corner from where we live,” Rodriguez said. “I think now with the mobile app aspect it gets even better. We look forward to continuing to serve the community of Laredo with the best coffee we can. We’re also excited to see the coffee community and small business community continue to grow.”
Dominic Rodriguez of Casa Blanca Specialty Coffee speaks at the announcement of tours being added to the Visit Laredo mobile application on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at Golondrina Food Park.
Jason Mack/Laredo Morning Times
In addition to hearings from cafe representatives, the event also featured testimonies from someone who completed the entire tour. KGNS presenter Mindy Casso said she started the tour a few months ago because she got frustrated with herself when she realized she had made a habit of always getting coffee from national chains. She finished the tour on Monday.
“I was very frustrated with myself for seeing small businesses close. I saw a certain coffee shop close right after COVID and I was like, ‘What am I doing here?'” she said. “Every day I have the opportunity to help my compatriots from Laredo. Instead of paying $6 for a coffee at a nationwide franchise that never goes broke and never goes under, why can’t I spend the money with my fellow entrepreneurs who most likely have invested their life savings and put it all into it? a dream to be able to offer specialty coffees.”
KGNS presenter Mindy Casso speaks at the announcement of tours being added to the Visit Laredo mobile application on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at Golondrina Food Park.
Jason Mack/Laredo Morning Times
Getting up at 2 a.m. to prepare to show up at 4 a.m. for the morning show, coffee is a typical port of call for Casso and many others involved in the production. She started the tour with her producer on the 7am to 8am break and documented the tour on her social media to encourage others to do the same.
“We ask ourselves, ‘Where should we get coffee this morning?’ and we’re going straight to the map,” she said. “We’re like, ‘This one has great matcha, this one has great cinnamon, this one has great mocha.” We don’t go to those franchises anymore. We visit our local cafes. That’s the message I want to convey to everyone. Do your best to break the habit of shopping local and supporting our local entrepreneurs. They dream of providing exquisite services to Laredo and we must support them.”
KGNS Presenter Mindy Casso was presented with a souvenir by LCVB Director Aileen Ramos for the conclusion of the Laredo Coffee Tour on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at Golondrina Food Park.
Jason Mack/Laredo Morning Times
Casso surprised the LCVB by announcing that KGNS will be producing segments on the morning show documenting each stop of the tour.
Ramos said she is pleased not only with the increase in awareness of local cafes, but also with the additional exposure Laredo’s art will receive through the mural tour.
“We have 42 murals in the application and on the map, and we don’t know that they can be found everywhere in the community,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you are, what part of the city you are in, there is always public art. We are very excited to share this with everyone.”
For more information on Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau tours and other offerings, download the mobile app or visit visitlaredo.com.
