Luchador Coffee’s name seems to speak for itself — a combination of Mexican wrestling culture and a love for café. To the family that runs it, the storefront on Memorial Drive means much more.
The Mexican-inspired coffee shop blends lucha libre and Latin-inspired coffee drinks to bring Tulsans a space to appreciate the culture of the professional Mexican wrestling sport one Mazapan latte at a time.
“Lucha libre is an art expression,” Luchador Coffee shop owner Vianca Silva said. “I feel like it’s more fun than anything else because you put a mask on and you become this persona, whoever you want to be and I feel like the mask allows you to do that.”
Silva’s older brother Victor Khoustekian created the concept in 2018 in Sacramento, California, to honor their grandfather. Silva helped him sell coffee from the beginning, and her brother even gifted the shop to her in 2020 when he parted ways and moved to Tulsa.
She originally didn’t accept the gift, so he closed its doors. Then she changed her mind. Silva took on the business as a 16-year-old high school junior at the time.
“I wanted it because of everything behind that, like, you see how hard he worked, how hard I worked, how hard, like, the family, the effort, the sacrifices that everyone makes,” Silva said. “I really want to keep that going.”
Luchador Coffee kept growing, but she ultimately knew she wanted to be close to her brother again. Silva began to visit Tulsa in 2024 to find a location for the shop.
She found the right spot near the Woodland Hills shopping corridor. She moved last December and, after months of planning, she opened the shop’s new location in July.
“I wanted a place where people could come and sit down and kind of make it their own space and you come in and it’s almost an experience,” Silva said. “So that’s what I really liked about this spot, it’s small enough that it’s manageable but it’s also big enough that people can come and sit down and think and enjoy it.”
The coffee shop provides a new spin to typical coffee recipes. Silva offers marshmallow whip on all drinks, puts a Latin spin on typical seasonal drinks and eventually hopes to expand her pastry offerings.
Khoustekian said it didn’t take long for him to convince his sister and mother to relocate to Tulsa.
“It’s a milestone that they came, for sure, and being able to see the vision you created in a whole different state and city doing really good and people responding well to it is pretty awesome to see,” Khoustekian said.
Both of their parents play a crucial role in supporting the business – her father remains in California but prioritizes visiting often. Only days before the Tulsa grand opening, he jumped on a flight to deliver 50 pounds of coffee when a shipment didn’t arrive.
Their mother Maria Silva can often be found behind the counter taking orders or greeting customers as they enter the shop. She’s Vianca’s right hand.
Maria is proud when she hears customers praising the welcoming and warm environment Vianca created at the shop, which features a mural and luchador masks for sale. She believes Luchador Coffee will become a staple for Tulsa’s Latino community thanks to her daughter.
“I had a gentleman that came in and he was like, ‘You know what? I walk in here and I feel like I’m in Mexico City, you know? It’s like, you know, ’cause it’s like Mexico, it’s like, luchadores and, you know, the bright colors and everything else,’” Maria recalled. “So, I think it’s, like, keeping a little bit of our culture and a little bit of our country with us.”
The shop is open from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at 6808 S. Memorial Drive, Suite #340.
Lea este artículo en español aquí.
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
