Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-state area. In addition to this update from Dubuque, we will share other developments in Wednesday’s edition.

A new Colombian cafe in Dubuque is offering authentic flavors and dishes.

Papi’s Cafe opened recently at 1052 Locust St. in a space remodeled by the co-owners, Sam and Alejandra Janecke.

Alejandra is originally from Colombia, and the couple met in Dubuque, where the two were both students at Emmaus University.

Sam works as a firefighter and is a co-worker of the landlord. He acted as handyman, helping to install a brand-new commercial kitchen and ventilation system.

“I was finally finishing my career as a stay-at-home mom,” Alejandra explained. “My littlest started school, so we kind of started talking about what I would be doing with my time, and this just dropped into our lap and we pursued it. We (liked the thought of) having a piece of Latin American culture in Dubuque. Lots of the culture that exists here already is Mexican, so we looked into bringing some Colombian influence into Dubuque and reaching out to more Latins.”

Alejandra says Papi’s Cafe sells several food items she’s never found elsewhere in Dubuque, including its signature empanadas with a meat and potato filling that features a recipe passed down from Alejandra’s mother. Other authentic treats include arepitas (cheese-filled bread) and pasteles de Gloria (puff pastries filled with guava and cream cheese or arequipe).

“Most recipes we had to experiment on a lot because you can’t find the same ingredients (here) as you would find in Colombia,” Alejandra said. “So we’ve had to tweak them to whatever we would find here.”

Sam says certain coffees and several types of cheese that are heavily called for in their recipes have been impacted by tariffs.

For instance, the Colombian yuca root is often prepared as a flour and used to create the dough for several dishes.

Sam’s favorite food is yuca fries, made of the root instead of potatoes.

“Like a potato but they just have a slightly different flavor and a little bit different texture which I really, really enjoy,” he said. “That we have to import — so there’s definitely some things not easily found in the U.S.”

“We also have a lot of drinks besides our coffee,” Alejandra said. “We have coconut limeade, mint limeade and sugarcane limeade. We offer freshly squeezed orange juice, and that’s been very popular so far.”

The space’s previous tenant, Habits Coffee & Mini Donut Co., made mini donuts. Alejandra and Sam have opted for a Colombian spin on that, with toppings ranging from cinnamon sugar — “churro” flavor as Sam describes it, guava (a tropical fruit paste), arequipe (a caramelized condensed milk) or typical powdered donuts.

“When I originally came here, my parents were living in Venezuela, even though we’re from Colombia,” Alejandra said. “That’s (around) when the country turned communist, so they kind of had to leave. We brought them here — my sister is a citizen and she requested they (be granted) green card status.”

The business is named in tribute to Alejandra’s father, Angel Mora, who passed away a few years after moving to be with his daughter in Dubuque.

“He was very close to us,” Alejandra said. “He loved to eat — he loved food. He was always experimenting, making new sauces and deciding which ones he liked better, going to new places around town. (Sam and I) both lived here longer than he did but he knew more of the restaurants and places.”

Alejandra’s mother, Esperanza de Mora, lives with the couple and works in the kitchen of Papi’s Cafe.

“It was always one of his dreams to be able to open a place like this and do food,” Sam said of Papi. “He loved cooking, and the sharing of it with friends and family. He was a man with a very loving heart and spirit. Kind of larger than life — he always made people feel at home and welcome. What we’re trying to do is capture some of his essence and replicate that here, in memory of Papi. That’s what we called him.”

Papi’s Cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. For more information or to order online, visit www.atpapis.com.