From JWU Student to Restaurant Owner: Andrea Cabrera

Author Laura Romero '27, a Digital Marketing & Social Media major, serves as the social media assistant for the University's Marketing Communications Team. 

Andrea Cabrera ’16, ’18 MBA transformed her passion for Latin culture, food and community into Café Ava, a growing Rhode Island business. After earning both her bachelor's degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management and her MBA from Johnson & Wales University, she built the foundation to turn that vision into reality, applying the skills she developed in the classroom to a career in entrepreneurship.

Applying Skills from JWU in Real Time

After joining a campus tour with a friend from New York, she knew JWU was the place for her. “Hospitality wasn’t something that was glorified; it was more like a general career,” she explains. “I chose hospitality because I wanted something I felt I could contribute to; for me, it was more about adaptability. Now that I look back, I’m like, thank God I did hospitality, because it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Throughout her time at JWU, Cabrera credits the university and the flexibility of its classes for helping her build her expertise by consistently applying what she learned in the classroom to her career, whether she was working at the mall, a gym or a local restaurant. Her involvement on campus as a resident assistant, orientation leader and president of her sorority strengthened her approach to customer service and leadership.

While her hospitality degree sharpened her customer service skills, it also introduced her to a broader world of business. She says the well-rounded curriculum prepared her not only to lead people, but also to understand the operational side of running an organization. Those lessons became especially valuable as Café Ava grew, from managing finances and staffing to outsourcing services and planning an expansion.

Pursuing an MBA and Expanding Her Vision

After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Cabrera decided to pursue an MBA. While her initial post-graduate idea was to work in events or hotel management, earning a master’s degree meant more than just leveraging a better position in the workforce: “I wanted an MBA to get a high-paying managerial job, but it was also the title. Especially as a minority, you just kind of want to go hard and get as much as you want.”

Earning a master's degree gave Cabrera a deeper understanding of business, how and why people consume, and the skills needed to communicate messages to audiences. Today, those lessons continue to shape how she operates Cafe Ava. From overseeing finances and staffing to outsourcing services and planning expansion, Cabrera credits her business education by equipping her to navigate the behind-the-scenes logistics of entrepreneurship.

The marketing and consumer behavior aspects of her master's degree are what Andrea applies most directly to her business. Café Ava's marketing is managed in-house, allowing her to use the strategies she learned in the classroom to connect with customers and grow her brand. Combined with the leadership and customer service foundation she built through her hospitality degree, Cabrera says her well-rounded education prepared her to confidently lead and expand her business.

Expanding Café Ava in Providence

Growing up surrounded by diverse cultures in New York and attending college in a vibrant city like Providence, Cabrera quickly realized there was a lack of Latin-inspired environments and food in other parts of the state, which led her and her husband to open the first shop in Cranston. Opening a second location meant more to Cabrera than expansion for its own sake — it meant making her customers feel heard and loved.

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“Everyone wishes to expand and grow, but for me, seeing people lined up in our Cranston shop, waiting for a table, made me realize it was time. The community was screaming for another location, so we listened. I wanted to create a space where people can sit and enjoy their meal, not be so in and out.”

While the goal was to leave a mark in a predominantly white environment, Cafe Ava quickly became more than a Latin-inspired shop to the community. The Providence opening brought things full circle. “Providence is where everything started,” Cabrera notes. “For me, it was very meaningful and important for my brand to be represented in the main city.” She credits her customers for the growth and love Cafe Ava has received since its first location in Cranston in 2022. 

Officially opening its doors in March 2026 in Providence, Cafe Ava introduced new menu items alongside its signature lattes and beloved arepas, including the arroz bowl and breakfast burrito, and launched a bar. The location also has a spacious meeting room where local businesses host events.

“The vision behind the aesthetic and how it looks is based on wanting to make it a place of comfort, a place everyone can call home,” Cabrera says. “It’s supposed to be like your abuelita's house; you’re arriving at your grandmother’s house, getting a cup of coffee, making it homey, welcoming and inviting. That’s why it looks like it does.”

“Si Se Puede”: A Legacy for her Daughter

“Sí se puede” means “anything is possible." It is the café’s signature phrase, and the legacy Cabrera hopes to leave behind. Café Ava is named after her daughter, Ava, who Cabrera calls the heart and soul of not only the shop, but her life.

“Before being a business owner, I am a mother,” Cabrera states. “When I stand here, I want Ava to see the next generation of children — that there are avenues and pathways, and fortunately for her, the next generation of Latinos are going to have support. She will have a mom who understands the process of filling out a college application.”

Advice for the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

As Cabrera reflects on her journey at JWU, both as an undergraduate and as a graduate of the College of Hospitality & Business, she is thankful for the activities she participated in and the friendships and connections she made along the way.

She encourages the next generation to be open-minded:. “Sometimes we think there’s a specific path. You don’t know what the world has in store for you. If an opportunity arises and you feel that itch, maybe you should try it, even if it’s not exactly what you had planned at first. Just try it — you never know what may come out of it.”