Alexandra Lourdes is a US-based Latina foodie, social media star and entrepreneur who, along with business partner Lin Jerome, are known for their iconic coffee shop chain, Café Lola. They had cofounded the marketing company, The Refined Agency, in 2015 after leaving fulltime university jobs and started the cafe chain in 2018. Alexandra and Lin are supported in the endeavor by their respective husbands, Michael Santos and Steve Jerome.
Early Life
Alexandra Lourdes, who has a PhD in higher education from University of Nevada Las Vegas, began working at the university with the Provost’s office in Student Affairs. There she met her future business partner, Lin Jerome, who was the Associate Director of Admissions at the Boyd School of Law.
Career
In 2015, within a few weeks of meeting each other, Alexandra Lourdes and Lin Jerome realized how well they worked together while working at a Make-A-Wish Foundation charity event. Both of them already had food-related side projects; Alexandra, a self-proclaimed lifelong foodie, had cofounded a popular foodie Instagram where she showcased the best eateries in town, while Lin had started the Las Vegas chapter of Ladies Who Dine with close friends to combine philanthropy with fabulous dining experiences. They were hired by Elizabeth Blau, owner of Blau and Associates Restaurants, for event marketing at one of Blau’s restaurants, which was immensely successful. The two subsequently decided to leave their fulltime jobs in order to open their own marketing company, The Refined Agency, where Blau was one of their first clients.
While working remotely from their laptops at local coffee shops, they noticed that the cafes, which usually served packaged food, mostly had minimalist decor and dark and dimly lit environment. They also noticed a gap in the market for “female-focused” cafes where people could get breakfast and lunch alongside coffee. They took it upon themselves to build such a perfect and refreshing spot where people would enjoy sitting all day comfortably. They named their coffee shop Café Lola after Lin’s mother and Alexandra’s dearest puppy. Their first location opened in Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada in 2018, when Alexandra had already gained over 10 thousand followers on Instagram. She soon started to cross-promote their own products on her various social media profiles. Apart from short recipe videos, she also posted longer videos and vlogs on her YouTube channel.
When the Covid-19 lockdown started, Alexandra started sharing more about herself, like being a Latina and a mother, and how she balanced everything. It suddenly generated a lot interest from fans and skyrocketed her following on social media, particularly TikTok. Café Lola was named Nevada's Most Instagrammable Cafe by the Las Vegas Review Journal. By mid-2023, they had already opened seven cafes and donut shops at various locations.
Family Life
Interestingly, Alexandra Lourdes and her business partner Lin Jerome were introduced to each other based on their common interests by their mutual friend Michael Santos, who is now her husband and business partner. The couple has two daughters named Sophie and Mila.
