After staring at the vacant coffee shop across the parking lot from their hip Phoenix bodega for three years, Monsoon Market owners Koral Casillas and Michela Ricci took matters into their own hands. The duo opened the cafe Strip Mall on Feb. 17.
The idea started when Casillas, Ricci and another tenant in the Mercury Building, located on Seventh Street just north of Osborn Road, talked about wanting local coffee there, joking that Ricci should just bring in her old espresso machine. The group riffed about making coffee “by the strip mall, for the strip mall,” Ricci recalls.
That notion, and the name, stuck with Casillas, who quickly mocked up a logo.
“One of the things I wrote on the first logo was ‘surprisingly good,’ because strip malls in Phoenix are surprisingly good. You can find some banger mom-and-pop restaurants, independent businesses of all kinds,” Casillas says. “It’s the most Phoenix thing.”
Casillas and Ricci aren’t strangers to coffee. The pair met around 2013 as assistant managers at Dutch Bros. Coffee. Before launching Monsoon, Ricci ran a mobile coffee cart called Early Bird Phx.
Monsoon Market opened in November 2021. The hip outfit offers natural wines, small-batch treats and playful, artisan handicrafts.
When Monsoon joined the strip mall, it was also home to Urban Beans, a vegan cafe. In January 2022, Urban Beans moved after 12 years at the Mercury Building and later permanently shuttered. The loss left a hole in the area.
“There was this gap of having that third space and especially local coffee,” Casillas says.
While the name Strip Mall is an homage to Phoenix’s most ubiquitous structure, it also references the team’s scaled-back approach to coffee. The menu is not centered around specialty or seasonal drinks, which Casillas and Ricci feel are already well-made and readily available at other local cafes.
“We don’t need to do what everyone else is doing,” Ricci says. “We want to actually go backwards and strip things down, get really basic and just do it really well.”
Strip Mall works with Chandler-based Peixoto Coffee, which has a coffee farm in Brazil and roasts beans in Arizona. The new cafe serves Peixoto’s cold brew along with two of its roasts. The taut menu includes drip coffee, lattes, Americanos and matcha in two sizes. An emerging favorite is the pistachio matcha latte, made with Mizuba Tea Co. matcha. It's one owner-recommended item that tips into the specialty drink category.
Drinks can be made hot or iced and flavored with small-batch Pink House Alchemy syrups. Currently, the only milk option is oat. That decision comes for a variety of reasons, the owners say, including staying true to the previous shop’s vegan-friendly menu and stocking what most people order.
The cafe also serves a small selection of locally made bites, such as bean-and-cheese burritos by Bad Hambres and doughnuts from VanFriendly Bakery, whose treats are vegan, gluten-free and nut-free.
Also available are hot cups of bone broth from The Broth Bar – an item that, like coffee, can be something people want to drink multiple times a week but may not want to make themselves. Casillas and Ricci are working to source more pastries and bagels.
In addition to these ready-to-eat options, local chefs are bringing their wares to Strip Mall. La Rue Crepes is the first to pop up at the cafe and has a residency there on Fridays and Saturdays during Strip Mall’s business hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until they sell out.
“We again want to use this space to showcase people in Phoenix that we really love what they’re doing and really connect with,” Casillas says, calling La Rue one of the best pop-ups in Phoenix.
The creperie makes traditional Bretonnes-style crepes, which use buckwheat. That makes them naturally gluten-free, says co-owner Alex Villa. The crepes are prepared with savory or sweet ingredients like prosciutto, egg and Gruyere cheese or housemade hazelnut spread with fresh strawberries.
While the owners have event ideas kicking around – hosting daytime DJs, book clubs and craft nights – they’ll curate the lineup based on requests from the neighborhood. Customers can also expect to see connections between the market and the cafe, such as being able to shop at Monsoon Market for products used at Strip Mall.
“We are really going to be focused on making this the best strip mall in Phoenix,” Casillas says.
“We’re doubling down on the strip mall," Ricci adds.
Both owners recognize that the cafe, like their market, will evolve.
“I’m very excited to see how Strip Mall turns into whatever the community and whatever we want it to be with time,” Casillas says.
3508 N. Seventh St., #100
The idea started when Casillas, Ricci and another tenant in the Mercury Building, located on Seventh Street just north of Osborn Road, talked about wanting local coffee there, joking that Ricci should just bring in her old espresso machine. The group riffed about making coffee “by the strip mall, for the strip mall,” Ricci recalls.
That notion, and the name, stuck with Casillas, who quickly mocked up a logo.
“One of the things I wrote on the first logo was ‘surprisingly good,’ because strip malls in Phoenix are surprisingly good. You can find some banger mom-and-pop restaurants, independent businesses of all kinds,” Casillas says. “It’s the most Phoenix thing.”
Casillas and Ricci aren’t strangers to coffee. The pair met around 2013 as assistant managers at Dutch Bros. Coffee. Before launching Monsoon, Ricci ran a mobile coffee cart called Early Bird Phx.
Monsoon Market opened in November 2021. The hip outfit offers natural wines, small-batch treats and playful, artisan handicrafts.
When Monsoon joined the strip mall, it was also home to Urban Beans, a vegan cafe. In January 2022, Urban Beans moved after 12 years at the Mercury Building and later permanently shuttered. The loss left a hole in the area.
“There was this gap of having that third space and especially local coffee,” Casillas says.
Strip Mall serves local brews and bites
The cafe faces Seventh Street on the south end of the yellow horseshoe-shaped building. Casillas and Ricci outfitted Strip Mall just as they did Monsoon Market, pairing vintage designer and thrifted finds, which was an “exhilarating” hunt spearheaded by Casillas. Vibrant art by Phoenix’s Lady Egg is showcased throughout the cafe – whom the pair has also featured at Monsoon. There’s ample patio space, which will soon have furniture and shade.While the name Strip Mall is an homage to Phoenix’s most ubiquitous structure, it also references the team’s scaled-back approach to coffee. The menu is not centered around specialty or seasonal drinks, which Casillas and Ricci feel are already well-made and readily available at other local cafes.
“We don’t need to do what everyone else is doing,” Ricci says. “We want to actually go backwards and strip things down, get really basic and just do it really well.”
Strip Mall works with Chandler-based Peixoto Coffee, which has a coffee farm in Brazil and roasts beans in Arizona. The new cafe serves Peixoto’s cold brew along with two of its roasts. The taut menu includes drip coffee, lattes, Americanos and matcha in two sizes. An emerging favorite is the pistachio matcha latte, made with Mizuba Tea Co. matcha. It's one owner-recommended item that tips into the specialty drink category.
Drinks can be made hot or iced and flavored with small-batch Pink House Alchemy syrups. Currently, the only milk option is oat. That decision comes for a variety of reasons, the owners say, including staying true to the previous shop’s vegan-friendly menu and stocking what most people order.
Strip Mall opened on Seventh Street and Mitchell Drive on Feb. 17. The cafe serves cold brew coffee, lattes, matcha and snacks.
Sara Crocker
The cafe also serves a small selection of locally made bites, such as bean-and-cheese burritos by Bad Hambres and doughnuts from VanFriendly Bakery, whose treats are vegan, gluten-free and nut-free.
Also available are hot cups of bone broth from The Broth Bar – an item that, like coffee, can be something people want to drink multiple times a week but may not want to make themselves. Casillas and Ricci are working to source more pastries and bagels.
In addition to these ready-to-eat options, local chefs are bringing their wares to Strip Mall. La Rue Crepes is the first to pop up at the cafe and has a residency there on Fridays and Saturdays during Strip Mall’s business hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until they sell out.
“We again want to use this space to showcase people in Phoenix that we really love what they’re doing and really connect with,” Casillas says, calling La Rue one of the best pop-ups in Phoenix.
The creperie makes traditional Bretonnes-style crepes, which use buckwheat. That makes them naturally gluten-free, says co-owner Alex Villa. The crepes are prepared with savory or sweet ingredients like prosciutto, egg and Gruyere cheese or housemade hazelnut spread with fresh strawberries.
Strip Mall displays vibrant art by Lady Egg. The large, airy space welcomes pop-up chefs and community events.
Sara Crocker
Building ‘the best strip mall in Phoenix’
Chefs aren’t the only people whom Casillas and Ricci want to welcome to Strip Mall. The pair plans to use the space for community events, too. They often get requests to use Monsoon Market but have found the shop has limitations. At Strip Mall, there will be more space, Ricci says.While the owners have event ideas kicking around – hosting daytime DJs, book clubs and craft nights – they’ll curate the lineup based on requests from the neighborhood. Customers can also expect to see connections between the market and the cafe, such as being able to shop at Monsoon Market for products used at Strip Mall.
“We are really going to be focused on making this the best strip mall in Phoenix,” Casillas says.
“We’re doubling down on the strip mall," Ricci adds.
Both owners recognize that the cafe, like their market, will evolve.
“I’m very excited to see how Strip Mall turns into whatever the community and whatever we want it to be with time,” Casillas says.
Strip Mall
Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily3508 N. Seventh St., #100
