‘Just do it!’

Around the corner on Morley, the new café Moqah Coffee and Beyond is doing steady business. A coffee shop may not seem like much of a novelty, but for a downtown long dominated by retail, it very much is.

“So many businesses of the same stuff closing down, and now having all of these available buildings for rent and stuff like that, I think it’s opening doors to new opportunities, to different business opportunities to what we’re used to,” said owner Francisco Ruiz.

After a bumpy start at another downtown location that didn’t pan out, Ruiz said Moqah’s clientele is now growing steadily. But that’s not the only attention it’s attracting.

“There’s been a lot of people, a lot of people interested,” he said. “They come here, and ask me, ‘hey, how do you do it over here? How difficult is it to open up a business over here? What if I wanted to open up a bar? What if I wanted to open a pizzeria?’ You know what man, it’s always going to be difficult, just do it! I’m trying to encourage people to open more businesses over here.”

Many of Ruiz’s friends left the border town to seek their fortunes in bigger Arizona cities or beyond. But with historical charm, and Mexico just a few steps away, Ruiz sees the possibility of something like a Bisbee, or a Tucson Fourth Avenue taking root here, and drawing people from both sides of the border.

“I want to stay here forever, and see that change, be able to see the changes in this street. I want to see new businesses opening up every month,” he said. “I want to be here when that happens.”