For the past seven months, Natasha and Omar Barraza have been wheeling their way through the greater Seattle area with their coffee and matcha cart, Howdy Y’all Coffee. After moving to Seattle from Los Angeles, the Barraza’s were looking to build connections in their new city, so they decided to bring the community to them. Back in L.A., they used to host friends every Saturday for coffee and pastries, and so they brought that love and inspiration with them into their new beginning. 

Every aspect of Howdy Y’all reflects the spirit of the Barraza’s and their lives; the name itself comes from both Natasha and Omar’s love of country music, and the start to their relationship when Omar messaged Natasha country music recommendations she had been asking around for. 

Omar’s current favorite drink is the banana cream top latte, which Natasha came up with from a very specific memory of Omar drinking 12 packets of banana milk from her fridge in the beginning stages of their relationship. 

In March of this year, the Barraza’s announced the opening of their coffee cart, quickly introducing matcha to their drink selection due to a high volume of requests. Their pop-up journey took them all over, from The Lemon Grove and 210 Seattle Markets art walk to Fairview Market Hall and the Magnolia Flea market. 

Howdy Y’all serves a wide variety of high-quality drinks with thought and love poured into each item. While you will find a standard latte or matcha, there are also more intentionally crafted drinks that connect back to Omar and Natasha’s heritage. 

“Like the taza con leche, which is my Hispanic heritage, and then her Korean heritage is also instilled with the banana concha or just matcha in general. So we kind of try to merge both,” Omar said.

Omar reflected that starting out with pop-ups was a constant learning moment. At their first farmers’ market stand, the health department attempted to shut them down because they didn’t have a handwashing station. But with quick reflexes and a trip to the local Walmart, they had a water cooler and hot water ready to go, allowing them to continue on with business. 

While Howdy Y’all was making its rounds, popping up at various locations, the Barraza’s were simultaneously working to create a solid platform for their business to stand on. In the very beginning of their business, a local Seattle architect told the Barraza’s that the Seattle Public Library was looking for coffee carts. For six months, they worked on bringing that dream to life. 

Now, after 120 successful pop-ups, Howdy Y’all has a permanent home on the third floor of the Seattle Public Library. Although the pop-ups were a great way to get the momentum moving, Omar shared that some of the high-paced stress has slowed down. 

“Since we’re not rushing [around] anymore, we’re able to really talk to people. There are a lot of businesses around—courthouse, attorneys, Disney office—they come, talk about how they found us, what they like, where they’re from. They say this is the best part of their day, which is nice,” Omar said.

With this newfound stability, Omar hopes they can focus more on creating a space for growing community and connections. About two weeks ago, Howdy Y’all hosted their first matcha workshop with the 1 Hotel.

“It was limited to 12 people, which was great—more intimate. We taught people how we make the matcha and what special drinks they can make. They got to take home their own bowl, whisk, cup. There’s a small matcha company here called Match Point—they sponsored the matcha, so everyone walked home with a tin. It’s another way to build community—let them be a part of our world. We want to do more,” Omar said. 

Sarah Ghadamsi and Heba Alhussein are Howdy Y’all customers and spoke to the rising culture of coffee and matcha spaces in Seattle.

“It’s like a new experience each time. It’s the excitement of you know—I like to always try to make myself try new things,” Ghadamsi said. 

Ghadamsi tried the regular matcha latte and said that, as someone who enjoys a sweeter drink, it had great flavor, noting that they could tell the high quality by sip. Alhussein tried the Earl Grey matcha, which they said was lighter on the sweetness but still a great blend of flavors. 

“Each place is different, even though there’s so many matcha spots they all have something different,” Alhussein said.

Briianna Santos, a social media influencer who visited the library to create content covering Howdy Y’all, shared why she thought it was important to highlight businesses like theirs. 

“I feel like it’s important because they actually are doing good. Yesterday, the Instagram stories were everyone highlighting, ‘Hey, there’s a matcha cart at the library.’ You can come study and grab a drink. If you love matcha, this is the spot… It’s really important to highlight moments like this because it’s more exposure for everyone,” Santos said. 

Santos shared that a key component she looks for in a business she highlights is customer service and an overall welcoming vibe. If the people running a business have good values and intentions, they have a strong foundation for a booming business. 

Omar spoke to the future of Howdy Y’all: “For now, just pouring out the passion for the next few months. We’ll definitely keep this here as long as we can—it’s chill, people can just come and vibe, but eventually, we want our own official space. The library’s great, but we have to be quieter. If we had our own space, we could do whatever we want—events, community stuff. That’s the goal.” 

Howdy Y’all is a labor of love that has shown just how far you can go with good flavors and passion. The Barraza’s created Howdy Y’all as a means of building community to enrich their lives, and by doing so they have enriched the Seattle neighborhood as well— in company and sweet treats. 

Howdy Y’all is open 10 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday in the Seattle Public Library.