Indio's Everbloom Coffee is the only local business in Coachella's 'Indio Central Market'

While it's called the "Indio Central Market," there aren't many businesses representing the city that's home to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival within one of the event's main food and drink areas. Instead, many of the stalls are outposts of popular L.A. eateries like Ramenhood's vegan ramen and Kogi's Korean BBQ, meaning L.A. residents can travel the roughly 130 miles only to eat at their same favorites from home.

This year, Everbloom Coffee is offering a local treat. The Indio-based coffee shop with the motto "coffee, for the people" is running a stand at the market, the first time that Everbloom has served cold brew, iced chai, and iced lattes at the annual music festival. Everbloom Coffee is the only locally owned food or drink spot within the Indio Central Market, and also might be the only recognizable food or drink spot from the Coachella Valley available throughout all of the festival grounds this year.

"This is my hometown, so it's really cool to be here. And hopefully, we can be a catalyst for other small businesses to see that you can be from your hometown, and still make it to the biggest festival in North America, and still be able to kill it and still be just as cool, and just as trendy and popular as any L.A., San Francisco, New York location," said 28-year-old Mercado, who grew up in Indio.

Mercado has an early memory of visiting the festival grounds for the first time as a child, tagging along with a family member to pick up trash.

"As locals, not a lot of people that live here can actually come here. My grandma, my aunts, never came to the festival ... I didn't really come as like an adolescent because I just couldn't afford it. I grew up super poor, so I couldn't really afford that kind of luxury," said Mercado, who started attending the festival as an adult in 2017 and credits seeing Russ in 2018 as one of his best Coachella memories.

Mercado and co-owner Matthew Ortega both worked at coffee shops in Palm Springs before they first opened Everbloom Coffee as a mobile coffee cart in 2019, and later opened the brick-and-mortar location off Highway 111 in Indio in 2020.

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"The desert is such a hot spot for people to come visit, but there's no craft coffee here at all. Like there's some in Palm Springs, and sprinkled out throughout the desert, but definitely not enough for the level of demand that there is," said Mercado.

Mercado says he thinks Everbloom's proximity to the festival grounds, focus on customer service, and quality of coffee led to the local shop earning a coveted spot at the festival this year.

"(Goldenvoice) and the team that they have in place are definitely tapped into knowing what's hot, popular, and trendy, and I think we fell into that category. And I think it's a blessing, and it's been a great experience and an honor to be a part of all these other great culinary experiences that are all around us," said Mercado.

Those who want to get their caffeine fix from Everbloom Coffee have two options during the festival season. The Empire Polo Club outpost is located in Indio Central Market, near the Outdoor Theatre and Everbloom's regular location is nearby at 81-730 CA-111, Suite 14 in Indio. It's open from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., seven days a week.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella food and drink: Indio's Everbloom Coffee makes the main stage