$5 Kava! Thursdays and Saturdays 6-8pm

Our Story

After graduating high school, Ayala Wolak said she ventured West to attend the University of Oregon. After a year, she said she decided it wasn’t the right fit and ended up relocating to Los Angeles, where she eventually came across some local kava bars in an attempt to find an alternative for alcohol.

With a newfound appreciation for kava, Ayala Wolak said she returned to Columbus in pursuit of sharing it with the community.

Though kava is one of the cafe’s staples, Ayala Wolak said the initial idea behind casa cacao was having it exclusively serve cacao-based products, a concept inspired by the chocolates her father brought back from his international travels.

“My dad and I would bond over trying these chocolates when I was in high school,” Ayala Wolak said. “We also experienced cacao with people who respect the plant and bean more than typical chocolate.”

Ayala Wolak said casa cacao soft-launched in February and has since experimented with its menu items, hours of operation and events that feature guest speakers and open mics.

“The opening of casa cacao has been like a homecoming for me; not only back to Columbus, but into myself,” Ayala Wolak said. “It represents the way I want to continue creating and sharing with others as I move forward in life.”

Ayala Wolak said she hopes visitors will consider casa cacao to be a safe and inclusive space.