Just west of downtown Austin, you’ll find a community that strives to bring physical, mental and spiritual health to people. Casa De Luz is a center that prioritizes wellness and houses a locally sourced vegan kitchen, coffee and juice bar, and yoga classes, all which aim to foster connection.
“We all get to own it and that’s how people feel when they come here. It’s their place, it’s what a functional village would do, where people win when they get to do the most,” Co-founder Eduardo Longoria said.
He said the place is somewhere for those to connect with the food they eat, the people they are surrounded by and “with Mother Earth, because it’s the most intimate relationship we have.”
The connections created at Casa De Luz started out of a house in the Clarksville neighborhood, where Longoria and friends cooked meals for groups of people together. They turned what used to be a meat packaging facility into their current location on Toomey Road in 1991.
Casa De Luz features aspects of wellness through not only the non-GMO and locally sourced meals they serve for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but through an abundantly diverse ecosystem. From yoga and event spaces to the juice and coffee bar, and numerous outdoor work spaces surrounded by greenery, a space of relaxation is made for many.
“If you just kind of strip something down to the basics and have it be as simple but effective as possible, I think we need more of that instead,” Longoria said.
While there are different parts to the community that makes up Casa De Luz, the moments shared among the people that step inside are nothing short of authentic. Longoria said a couple that came in and expressed their interest in getting married at Casa. He also met the couple’s 8-month-old boy who he shared a meaningful encounter with.
“He just came over to me and I hugged him, and my heart just wanted to burst open,” Longoria said.
The environment that Longoria aims to cultivate at Casa De Luz is not only seen in the experiences of visitors, but within the employers from the different areas of Casa, like the yoga and dance studio, Alchemy Juice Bar and the third eye lounge that serves coffee, sipping cacao and other health conscious treats.
“It’s a calm area. I love being here,” said Amara Lopez, Alchemy Juice Bar staff. “I feel like it’s such a de-stress from school, even though it’s so close. That’s what’s weird about it. When I came here, I was like, I feel like I’m in another world.”
The warmth felt by the people that enter Casa De Luz comes from the conversations and food that keep people coming back, like Jake Rucoi, who has been coming for over a year.
“It’s almost like going into a home and they’re all cooking for you,” Rucoi said. “It’s a lot of good, like-minded people.”
There are always new things entering Casa De Luz, like the Wellness Run Collective, Casa Cooking classes and other programs that invite people in.
“I saw they offer dance classes and am looking forward to that, I just think it’s something different to do,” Rucoi said.
The mission of Casa De Luz is one of whole plant nutrition and wellness, which may not be for everyone, but the place reaches the people it needs to, Longoria said.
“We’re not going to say that this is the best food that you can eat,” Longoria said. “It’s the best we know, but we’re always looking for something better. I think this place definitely can help people feel connected more. That’s why I call it the church of connection.”