Now open for business

   The Percolator café, known as a venue for local musicians and artists, has been bought by three recent UTEP graduate students, each of whom are ready to tweak up new opportunities for their coffee shop.

“I’m excited, nervous, anxious and all of the above at the same time,” said Alan Altamira, one of the three business owners of The Percolator. “It’s a lot to take in.”

Besides Altamira, David Coria and Richard Ornelas are in the business venture together as colleagues and as friends. All three graduated with degrees in business.

Coria said he came about The Percolator in an advertisement in Craigslist, in which he found the price was convenient for investment. On Sept. 5, he and his partners signed a contract, but the full process will not be finished until the end of this month.

“I felt that once we would all come together, we could make this business successful,” Coria said.

The Percolator has been known for being a small café and concert venue for local musicians and artists to perform their work. The new owners decided that keeping The Percolator to its formality is what they see as best for their customers.

Some students said that even if The Percolator is under new management, they would only go if it remains as a venue for local artists and sells good food.

“People get really into the shows and the people performing are awesome. I’ve wanted to go there again, because of the cool environment but I would only go if it remains the same,” said Kevin Velez, freshman pre-pharmacy major.

Aaron Hernandez, sophomore art major, said he doesn’t care about the new management.

“They had good bands playing there and I don’t know what bands they will take now, but I don’t care of the management,” Hernandez said.

The new owners said that they will make some changes, such as hiring new staff, incorporating a lower priced menu and new business hours.

All changes to The Percolator will be updated on their social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Altamira said he plans to keep posting status more frequently and updating events that occur at their business and at the nearby area.

They also have plans to make The Percolator a better place to study between classes.

“It’s right here in downtown and I know after 5 p.m. there’s going to be plenty of parking, so it’s great opportunity to come down to have a great coffee and study,” Ornelas said.

Liz Corral, sophomore mathematics major believes that supporting local businesses is gratifying even if there is slight change.

“I would go just to see how much the place has changed now with new management,” Corral said.

Another addition to The Percolator is the possibility of displaying movies on certain days of the month.

“We want to utilize equipment that the previous owners didn’t use before and incorporate movies,” Coria said.

The Percolator opened under new management Sept. 14, but the owners are planning to have a grand opening, which will be announced on their social-networking sites.

Marilyn Aleman may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.