Sat in front of a rack of surfboards donning a cap that spells the name of his restaurant, Antoine quite simply fits in perfectly with the El Zonte aesthetic. “I’ve been coming here on surf trips for about twelve years,” he says, “originally it was really just the waves, the quality of the waves, the consistency of the waves, the warm water, the tropical vibes.” It wasn’t until he brought his father for a birthday trip that he made a decision that would change his life for good.

El Salvador is one of the world’s top surf spots—always has been. In the past, surfers tended to skip the destination anyway; it wasn’t worth the risk. But Antoine watched as El Salvador finally broke free from its past and caught the attention of those who’d previously stayed away, and with his father, he opted to seize the moment: “We thought it was full of opportunity. We’ve always been very passionate about the food and drinks industry, so we decided to make the move.”

Antoine, alongside his wife, dad, and two dogs, upped sticks and made a permanent home of El Zonte. In no time, they’d made friends in the area. “One of them had a little shack on the beach here,” he says, “he wasn’t really doing much with it, so he told us we could rent it. It was really just a small box. That’s why we’re called La Cajita; la cajita means little box.”

La Cajita started out with crêpes and coffee, a nod to Antoine’s French roots and the years he’d spent in California. Eventually, La Cajita adopted a burger menu: “We were doing a California-style smash burger that got a lot of attention.”

Once the restaurant began accepting bitcoin, even more doors opened. “Accepting bitcoin and being able to pay in bitcoin has been really helpful for us,” Antoine tells us, “we’ve been getting a lot more business, we’ve been able to use it to buy our groceries for the restaurant, and we’ve been trying to save as much as possible. We’re stoked to be part of the movement.”

La Cajita soon outgrew its little box. In late 2025, Antoine opened a bigger restaurant right by the waves. Now he seeks to give back to the town that has given him so much: “The community’s been terrific for us. We’ll be doing live music, DJs, and dance parties. We’re still at the beginning, but we’ll be doing all kinds of stuff that’s for the community and for us to all have a good time together.”

Motivos is located in San Salvador’s Zona Rosa district, a favorite amongst locals and visitors. Its streets are lined with cafés, bars, restaurants, and boutiques bustling with life both day and night. The area is peppered with murals and street art and also houses two of El Salvador’s most reputable museums.

However, like in many cities around the globe, things looked very different during the pandemic. Yet still, it was right then that Rodrigo Moreno, founder of Motivos, decided to pursue his passion. “Motivos is a dream come true that combines the flavors of coffee with gifts,” he tells us, “it was born during the pandemic and created to send messages of love through food.”

“The goal of Motivos is to make every day count.”

As San Salvador’s first coffee and flower shop, Motivos found a niche. Granted, times changed quickly as the capital continued its transformation under President Bukele’s leadership, and when he saw the café landscape expand and competition grow, Rodrigo knew his business had to adapt.

“We started accepting bitcoin when the country opened up to the world with the Bitcoin Law,” Rodrigo says, “we did it to support the government and the country’s image but then realized it was also a tool to differentiate ourselves from the competition and reach a community that shares our values.”

Motivos, San Benito

But things didn’t stop there. As the city flourished around him, Rodrigo, forever the entrepreneur, chose to adapt once more: “With the change in the image of our nation and the arrival of more international visitors, we decided to open for brunch and create the first coffee-and-flower shop that offers brunch all day, every day.”

Unique food offerings are not the only reason Rodrigo believes Motivos has survived and thrived in a time that brought many businesses to their knees. “Choosing quality ingredients and making totally uncommon products such as our chocolate flowers or our chocolate coffees sets us apart from other coffee shops. Our most popular gifts are undoubtedly our chocolate-covered strawberries, and one of the things we like most is seeing fathers come in to buy flowers for their daughters, simply as a way to make every day count.”

Sitting proudly among the hustle and bustle of Motivos, Rodrigo smiles as he shares his vision: “Our dream continues to grow; we want to become El Salvador’s premier brunch spot. Given that El Salvador is experiencing a different reality and the country is now opening up to the world, I invite other entrepreneurs to join this movement.”

In the bustling heart of the capital, right across from the National Theater and just a stone’s throw from famous landmarks such as the National Palace and the BINAES, a local fan favorite serves Salvadoran specialty coffee to the population and a growing crowd of tourists.

Since its inception in 2018, Café Fulanos has grown into a beloved space for breaks and conversation—but such tranquil scenes were unthinkable in Centro Histórico just a couple of years ago.

Café Fulanos, Centro Histórico

When Café Fulanos opened its doors, El Salvador was still healing. Gang violence had reached its tragic peak in 2015, when El Salvador became the world murder capital. At the center of this sat Centro Histórico, which was firmly in the grip of rivaling gangs. In the same year, Nayib Bukele became mayor of San Salvador and began securing the streets, transforming the heart of the capital into a quiet, low-traffic area under the control of law enforcement, with daily curfews for businesses.

Café Fulanos lived through this time, a constant in a rapidly changing landscape. Owner and founder Carlos Cárcamo lets us in on the reason behind his decision to open his coffee shop right here in Centro Historicó: “We decided to make a change from within, because we wanted this historic area to reclaim itself and change history.”

To do so, Fulanos had to create a sense of security and trust in a neighborhood with a chequered past. This, in part, inspired the name “Fulanos,” the Salvadoran term for an unspecified person or persons (think, “dude”). Fulanos is a café for everybody, in both style and nomenclature.

“We decided to make a change from within, because we wanted that historic area to reclaim itself and change history.”

As Mayor Bukele became President Bukele in 2019, progress accelerated rapidly in Centro Histórico. Security increased and investments began pouring into the area. Café Fulanos could extend its operating hours, and more and more guests, both local and international, began frequenting the establishment.

Ever since, Café Fulanos has continued to be a fiercely innovative brand, celebrating third-wave coffee culture and the progress of the industry. The café offers local and international sweet treats and savory dishes alongside specialty menu items such as pour-over, Aeropress, and drip coffee—brewing methods that bring out the very best in specialty coffee. Fulanos has also embraced Bitcoin since it was made legal tender in 2021. Founder Carlos Zamora explains, ”we started accepting bitcoin because it aligns with our brand philosophy. We are an innovative brand and want to be part of this new trend.”

“The center went from being a place where no one wanted to come to a point of pride for the entire country.”

With Centro Histórico reclaiming its vibrancy and status as a must-visit area of the Salvadoran capital, customers sit, relax, and gather all day long in the welcoming space that is Café Fulanos. Others drop in, greeting their favorite baristas with handshakes and fist bumps before grabbing a signature cold brew and going about their day.

Some head to work, others visit the neighboring Captain Gerardo Barrios Plaza to explore the national landmarks which now stand as proud symbols of a country that has bounced back like no other. Gerson Benítez, investor in and partner at Fulanos, tells us, “the center went from being a place where no one wanted to come to a point of pride for the entire country.”