Tacoma's North End is getting a new coffee shop and scratch bakery where Dave's Meat & Produce stood for 18 years.

Rústico Coffee & Bakery is under construction at 1312 N. I St., with co-owners Kristin and Diego Sierra targeting a fall 2026 opening, the Tacoma News Tribune reported Monday, July 27.

The couple is overhauling the roughly 2,000-square-foot, 1960s-era building, removing drop ceilings to expose wooden beams, cutting new windows into several walls, and adding a commercial baking kitchen.

Dave's Meat & Produce closed abruptly on Feb. 17, 2025, after nearly two decades as a neighborhood grocer and meat counter that also supplied Tacoma restaurants. The walk-up burger spot Ooh La La Burgers, which shared the building, closed at the same time.

Kristin Sierra, a Tacoma native who works as a librarian at Lincoln High School, and Diego Sierra are joined as co-owners by Diego's cousins Maria Jose Quesada and Danny Pineda. The Quesada-Pineda family operates around two dozen restaurants and cafés in Honduras, including the bakery brand MiaMia Cookies.

The menu will center on cinnamon rolls in multiple flavors, large scratch-made cookies, pastelitos — a flaky pastry filled with guava jam, cheese, or both, reflecting Kristin's Cuban heritage — plus sweet and savory croissants, tarts, and ice cream. The café will also offer cake by the slice daily and accept custom whole-cake orders.

The Sierras spent about a decade teaching English in Bangkok before settling in Tacoma. They said they'd been considering opening their own business for just as long. Diego works for a point-of-sale payment company that serves restaurants.

The space matters to them.

Indoor seating, outdoor tables beside a walk-up window, and eventually a back patio are planned. Kristin's cousin, a vintage buyer and seller, is leading interior design, sourcing unique furniture and fixtures.

The owners also plan to stock a book collection and possibly partner with a local shop for a vinyl listening setup.

The Sierras have secured the necessary permits. Before the café opens, Kristin plans to bake at a commissary and pop up at local events using a food trailer purchased from Jazzy's Cookie Co. Construction updates and pop-up schedules will be posted to the café's Instagram account, @rusticotacoma.

No specific opening date has been announced beyond fall 2026.