By: Diana Cortez April 9, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona alumnus Oscar Villegas wanted to bring his love of Texas to California by creating a Tex-Mex combination of breakfast foods.
In the heart of Pomona, the family-owned Noche De Dia coffee is open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon. They have been making their cold brew for about 10 years, before selling stuff they enjoy like their Nutella coffee. They are always switching out different flavors every season, according to Villegas, the owner.
Some of their specialty items include their peanut butter, Nutella and strawberry cream coffees. The coffees have a sweet and strong taste. Their breakfast tacos are made from beef and pork as well, mixed in with juicy, filling ingredients in their flour tortilla wrap. They offer occasional seasonal flavors such as the grinch tea, Mexican mocha and gingerbread cookie coffee.
Villegas met his co-partner Nicole Villegas at CPP, where he was majoring in English, and she was majoring in hospitality. During his time at CPP, Villegas worked for Associated Students Inc at the Bronco recreation and intramural complex. They graduated in 2013 from CPP, later they married and moved to Texas.
During the pandemic, they moved back to Pomona, his hometown. They started selling in November 2020, and it will be their four- year business anniversary this November. Now, he is working as an English teacher full-time and part-time business owner on the weekends.
They are grateful that many support their small family-run business.
“We’re gonna try doing new things and the feedback we’ve gotten so far has been very positive. So, it just kinda motivates us to kinda keep working hard and making sure that we meet those standards for the community set upon us,” stated Villegas.
They are happy to feed their community. Their brand name Noche de Dia was based on their coffee as it was dark like the night but with their creamer it made it bright like the day, making people stay up night and day. Every family member helps in certain parts of the business, from preparing the flavors, talking to customers, cooking; the family works together to run the business.
His father, Oscar senior, and his sister Naomi, help run the business when visiting their location at times. The family is up from dawn to dusk on a typical workday.
Bringing the Tex-Mex culture to Pomona, people stop by the local business to show support. The family likes to build bonds with its customers. They find it rewarding to see the community and the support, encouraging them to keep going and work hard.
Many customers find their business through social media such as Instagram. Michelle Campos and Cody Halley decided to check out the place for the first time to try the coffee; they saw it on a friend’s story and decided to try some for themselves. When picking date spots, they love to support small businesses.
“I feel like we do have to help out each other, empower each other and support each other,” said Halley.
Noche de Dia Coffee can be found at 323 E Monterey Ave. Pomona, every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Feature Image Courtesy of Diana Cortez
