“You have to be a hard worker. You have to be willing to come to work on the hard days, and put a smiling face on for everybody,” Marliena Landeros says “of staying strong for everyone else, and working harder than anyone else,” when detailing her duties as the manager of the Pangolin Cafe on 955 S Virginia Street.
She’s been in that position for the past year, after working in other roles here, and a decade in the coffee industry with previous experience on the East Coast.
Pangolin Cafe is known for its quality variety of offerings from Turkish coffee to Cuban espresso to Matcha latte.
“I had the Fall Fog and it was perfect nostalgic goodness. Probably the single best tea latte I have ever had. I love that it was not loud sweetness but just a gentle afterthought allowing the pumpkin spice flavors to be the center of attention to the palette. Best coffee experience I have had in a long time,” a recent visitor wrote on Yelp wrote.
Landeros says community and service are prized at Pangolin Cafe.
“What sets us apart is our service. I think more than coffee what we provide is community and a friendly face. We like to connect with everybody. It’s a big honor to serve this community and the people that come in here,” she said.
“When I was a kid I loved coffee, I’ve been drinking coffee since I was two,“ Landeros says remembering how in middle school she thought baristas were cool.
“One of the favorite things about working here is we’ve seen a lot of babies be born, and this year was the first I saw a kid go from infant to starting kindergarten and it’s been wild to see her grow,” she said.
Future plans include partnering with UNR for its 150th anniversary next month and expanding for more people to enjoy the Pangolin Cafe experience.