Makers & Finders to expand into Henderson next spring

At Makers & Finders, they’ve found their next spot; soon, they’ll be making spiced lattes and arepas, empanada skillets and shrimp ceviche and garlic chicken with yuca mash.

The coffee shop and Latin café is expanding to Valle Verde Drive in Henderson, making a fourth location in the Makers & Finders group, after the Arts District original, the Summerlin restaurant, and a bakery and roastery in Chinatown (called Take It Easy Roasters).

The Henderson opening, in a former bank, is planned for spring 2023, in the same center as Tacotarian and Boom Bang Fine Foods & Cocktails.

“It’s a unique synergy with the three of us,” said Josh Molina, 33, founder and owner (with his family) of Makers & Finders, in an exclusive discussion with the Review-Journal. “We’ve been wanting to go to Henderson for a while now. The opportunity never came about, and then we took a pause during the pandemic. We’re excited to offer our beverages, our food, our vibe.”

More space, new items

At 2,700 square feet plus terrace, the Henderson restaurant will be the largest Makers & Finders by about 1,000 square feet. The new shop will encompass coffee-shop seating with grab-and-go service, a breakfast bar, a regular bar, a main dining room and an open kitchen.

Much of the menu will be familiar from the other Makers & Finders, but some items will be introduced in Henderson, like açai bowls, prepared bionica parfaits, ready-to-go sandwiches and new empanada fillings (there are currently 10).

“We’re a coffee shop, but we’re also a full-service café,” Molina said, and the Henderson restaurant offers another opportunity to continue “trying to perfect that hybrid model.”

Entrepreneurial success

Makers & Finders takes its name from the “Makers & Finders” book series written by Van Wyck Brooks, an early and mid-20th century literary critic. Molina stumbled across some of the books, and he liked the open-ended nature of the series title, even as a name for a restaurant serving foods rooted in Central and South America.

“A big part of the concept I wanted was a Latin café, but I didn’t want to give it away before you got in the door,” Molina said. “(The name) is nondescript but has a lot of power to it.”

Molina is a Colombian American, the son of immigrants. The Molina family launched the first Makers & Finders in September 2014 in the Arts District. They were pioneers, the neighborhood still raffish.

A second restaurant debuted in Downtown Summerlin in December 2017. The Chinatown bakery and roastery, which also serves as a production kitchen for its sibling restaurants, launched in July 2020, just after COVID dining restrictions began to ease. The empanadas crafted by the bakery are worth noting: light, airy, puffy, pillowy, recalling vol-au-vents.

At the new Makers & Finders, as at the other shops, the same mission inspires, Molina said. “This coffee I love, this food I love, I want to put it out there.”

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.