In a low-key plaza on Alondra Boulevard in Norwalk, a pathway of LED lights in red, white, and green leads you to a new concept. It sits in the middle of a small shopping center that has fought off encroaching gentrification and is still cherished by locals for its boba shop, donuts in pink cardboard boxes, and corner liquor store.
Newly opened, Cafe Palestina welcomes you inside, its register and espresso machines wrapped in keffiyeh print, the black-and-white pattern that has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Palestinian identity in the world.
The bases of every table have the same print, while imagery of Palestinian landmarks covers the tabletops and the walls carry Palestine map art. Depending on where you sit, the words "Free Palestine" stare back at you.
It is a coffee shop, but it is also a statement, a room built to make a community feel like it belongs.
Gee is the co-owner of Cafe Palestina. He keeps his identity partially anonymous, not out of shyness, but out of necessity. He dealt with gang extortion before launching this concept, a reality that shadows the ambitions of small business owners in communities like this.
It is a weight he carries quietly, even as he builds something this visible, this proud, and this open. He built it anyway.
"This represents who I am, my home," he tells L.A. TACO. "And being able to show the city that there is a Palestinian community here who is supporting one another."
"I named it Café Palestina with the Spanish spelling because I also wanted to pay homage to the Latino community," Gee says. "My Latino friends have been beside me from the beginning, supporting me, and showing up. I wanted to raise awareness about Palestine, but I also wanted them to see themselves in the name. This place is for them too.”
Norwalk is a city of over 100,000 people in the heart of Southeast Los Angeles County. A predominantly Latino, working-class city. The name is not just an identity for Gee. It is an outstretched hand.
Personally, though this plaza has been part of my daily geography for as long as I can remember, I have not had coffee in six years. I stopped for my own reasons and have not looked back.
That all changed on the day I stood in this room, looking at a menu where every drink was named after a place, a people, and a piece of something very real for Gee. I decided that if I was going to break a six-year streak, it was going to be here.
I asked Gee to make me something he thought I would enjoy. No instructions. Just trust.
He made me the “Latte Gazawi,” iced, with oat milk, espresso, steamed milk, cinnamon powder, condensed milk, and a house-made cold foam. It tasted similar to a café bombón, a drink that originates in Spain. The cinnamon is a reminder of how a spice, like a name, can reach across communities.
I did not regret a single sip. And if you are not sure where to start, the “Latte Milh Akka,” with vanilla and pistachio paste, was the one I kept hearing people order.
Menu highlights start with the “Palestino,” an Americano, the “Palestina Espresso,” and the Murr Al-Jabal, a Turkish coffee brewed with cardamom and served unfiltered. Each is priced at $4.
Signature Lattes are $7 each, hot or iced upon request, including the “Latte Al-Tatreez” with caramel, the “Latte Gimzo” with Biscoff, the “Latte Al-Quds” with vanilla, and the “Latte Gazawi,” which Gee made for me.
Tea options are just as thoughtful. “Chai Haleeb” is made with loose black tea and sweetened condensed milk. “Chai Karak” comes with a blend of aromatic spices. There are also options with fresh mint leaves and dried sage. For those who want something warm and grounding without the caffeine, the “Sahlab” is waiting.
Café hours run 5 a.m. to midnight. This is not a brunch spot schedule. It is a neighborhood schedule for the student pulling an all-nighter at Cerritos College, the early-shift worker, or the neighbor who just needs somewhere to be at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday.
Desserts come courtesy of The Cheesecake Lab, another Palestinian-owned business, and the partnership is as intentional as everything else is at Café Palestina. Options run deep. You can choose from strawberry, mixed berry, apple caramel, lemon, mango, red velvet, Biscoff, tiramisu, banana pudding, Gaza chocolate, and rice pudding.
Behind the counter, the cashier is so warm and unhurried even on a busy day, and lets everyone know he is genuinely happy to see the support.
It took Gee and his team over three years to get here.
Over three years of planning and learning, Gee taught himself to be a barista because the vision he saw demanded it be done right, and only he could set that tone. By day four of the soft opening, Gee had already made over 300 cups of coffee. That number does not happen without a real community that was ready and waiting for change.
Some of those people are not even local. A woman named Alicia and her mother drove nearly an hour to be here. They had another errand to run but they rerouted.
"I saw it online. I thought it was really cool," Alicia tells L.A TACO. "I want to support a Palestinian-owned business. We were doing another errand and we decided to stop by on the way back."
She looks around the room before she says the last part: "It's beautiful, and the coffee looks really yummy."
People are driving from all over L.A. because they see something online and feel compelled to show up in person. Because showing up in person still means something. It is a sign of camaraderie.
The Arab American Institute estimates that Southern California is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country. The greater Los Angeles area has long been a hub for the Palestinian diaspora.
Gee chose Norwalk knowing this.
“The team was not sure what to expect really,” Gee says. “There is always uncertainty in a soft opening, whether anyone will come.”
Café Palestina is proof that when you build something with intention, when every light, every table, every drink name, even the partnerships point back to who you are and where you come from, that the community will find its way to your door and to support.
Gee, who has every reason to stay hidden, built the most visible room in the neighborhood anyway.
Opening here was not just a business decision. It was a message that this community deserves to be seen, and that this city is big enough to hold them.
Café Palestina ~ 10929 1/2 Alondra Blvd. Norwalk, CA 90650
