When Jessica Nelson and Ashley Vicencio started talking about opening a coffee shop, the perfect space had not yet appeared. Nelson remembers finding a note in her phone from 2024, proof the two friends had been imagining the idea long before they had a storefront.
Jessica, owner of Tress Hair Boutique, and Ashley, owner of Sol & Bel, had already built businesses of their own. Their friendship included conversations about business, creativity and what was in their dreams. Somewhere along the way, those conversations turned into a shared idea: someday, they should build something together.
Then, the opportunity appeared right next door.
The space Bandidas Coffee Company now occupies carries Manhattan coffee history of its own. At 1437 Anderson Avenue, it was the original home of Brothers Coffee, founded by Dave Ramero. Brothers Coffee now operates from a location inside the Edge District on Kimball Avenue, while Ramero serves as pastor at Relevant Church MHK. For Jessica and Ashley, the availability offered the chance to take a familiar coffee space and give it a new personality.
That personality begins with the name.
“We feel like we are the outlaws because we just kind of do everything a little bit differently,” Jessica said.
Bandidas means “female bandits,” and the name became an easy fit for a concept blending cowgirl attitude, Spanish influence, and an independent streak. Both Jessica and Ashley have Hispanic heritage, and that influence carries through the branding, atmosphere and, especially, the menu.
One of the shop’s defining ingredients is horchata, the traditional Mexican drink made with rice, cinnamon and vanilla. At Bandidas, it becomes the creamy milk base for the house Bandidas Latte, and also makes its way into the Horchata Matcha. Other signature drinks continue the theme, including Abuelita’s Mocha, made with espresso and spiced Mexican chocolate, and the Dulce de Leche Latte. The menu also includes playful creations such as the Berry Wanted Cold Brew and Berry Crema Matcha.
Ashley developed the drink recipes from scratch, helping give the menu the distinct flavor profile the owners wanted.
Then, there are the bagels.
Jessica and Ashley are longtime bagel lovers, and when they could not find the style they wanted locally, they decided to bring it straight from New York City. The bagels are made in the Big Apple, shipped the same day, then served fresh at Bandidas in the Little Apple. Choices range from plain, and everything, to blueberry, jalapeño red pepper, apple cinnamon raisin and rainbow. The bagels are then paired with house-made schmears such as plain, strawberry, cinnamon sugar and bandida garlic jalapeño.
The early response surprised even the owners.
Bandidas began by preparing roughly 60 bagels a day and quickly sold out. They bumped that number to 100 and sold out again. Before long, the shop was moving hundreds of bagels in a single day, with Jessica recalling one day when they prepared around 260 - an impressive response considering Bandidas had only held its soft opening on July 25.
Some customers have even driven from outside Manhattan specifically for the New York-style bagels. The demand has already prompted requests for bagel catering for offices and events, although their immediate focus is just keeping up with the shop.
While the bagels sure bring a buzz, Coffee remains at the center of Bandidas. The company roasts its own beans using an electric roaster, a newer technology Jessica says offers a more environmentally friendly approach. Her husband, Andrew, handles much of the roasting. The lineup currently includes a house blend and a decaf, with plans for rotating single-origin coffees, and retail bags customers can take home.
Andrew also played a major role in bringing the building’s vision to life. Jessica and Ashley designed the interior themselves, while he handled the buildout of the bar, helping transform it into something distinctly Bandidas.
Throughout, the Western-meets-Spanish style carries through to even the smallest details. Nelson first sketched the concept for the Bandidas logo before a Kansas City designer brought it to life, blending cowgirl spirit with Spanish influence. Even the shop’s neon sign gets in on the fun, featuring a playful bull with a bagel perched on its horn. Together, those touches capture the thoughtful, stylish personality of Bandidas Coffee Company, and its willingness to have a little fun along the way.
Jessica Nelson and Ashley Vicencio are entrepreneurs and longtime friends who have built the company around a simple instinct: when they dream up something they wish existed, they are not inclined to wait for someone else to create it.
“If there’s something we don’t have,” Jessica said, “we’ll just make it.”
That entrepreneurial spirit can already be seen in Tress Hair Boutique and Sol & Bel. Now, it carries throughout Bandidas Coffee Company, from coffee roasted in-house and horchata-inspired drinks to New York-style bagels and a space unlike anywhere else in Manhattan.
The result is unmistakably Bandida. Bold, stylish and, fittingly, just a little bit outlaw.