Collective Coffee

What happens when you combine church leadership experience, nonprofit community work, and a passion for quality coffee? Collective Coffee opened in March 2025 in the former Hanai Coffee space on West Southern Avenue. Juan and Tina Chavez (founders of South Phoenix church and the nonprofit AZ Reach) partnered with Aaron and Dana Daile to create something bigger than espresso and pastries. They built a genuine community hub for South Phoenix and Laveen.

Look, the mission here is not subtle. Collective Coffee exists "from our community, for our community." The space directly ties into AZ Reach's mentorship programs (link below), grief support, entrepreneurship training, and financial literacy workshops for local high school students. You can feel that energy the moment you walk in.

The coffee comes from a nonprofit roaster Cultivate Coffee in Sunnyslope that I reviewed last year. Collective does not roast in-house but they chose their partner carefully. The beans are solid and the espresso drinks are consistently well made. Try the Copper Latte (espresso with caramel, agave and cardamom) or the Horchata Latte if you want something beyond the standard menu.

The specialty drinks menu leans creative without crossing into gimmick territory. The Tuxedo Latte has handcrafted cookies and cream sauce with crushed Oreos. That's what my wife got and I stole a few sips when she was looking away... 🙂 The drink actually tasted good.

Food comes from other South Phoenix businesses. Pastries are from Red Velvet Bakery. The breakfast burrito includes house made chipotle sauce and a side of green salsa. The avocado toast on sourdough is legitimately excellent (avocado, chipotle sauce, cotija, pickled onion, cilantro, red pepper flakes, tomato).

The space itself is family friendly and they even have high chairs for the little ones. There is indoor seating and bar seating. The vibe feels comfortable and lived in rather than trying too hard to be trendy. You can post up for hours without feeling rushed.

Collective hosts regular community events and gatherings. This is not background noise marketing. They actually function as a neighborhood gathering spot where people know each other and the staff remembers your name (not mine because I live on the other side of town and only made it here once so far for this review, but I will definitely swing by again whenever I am in the area).

South Phoenix and Laveen needed this. A real local coffee shop that invests back into the community instead of just extracting profit. Collective Coffee delivers on that promise with quality drinks and food that support the mission.

Read about AZ Reach programs.