A tight-knit Las Vegas family that turned a small southwest valley coffee bar into a neighborhood staple is now taking over the storefront next door, transforming it into a Mediterranean hangout called So Sofra. The team behind Alchemy Coffee says the new spot will fold Turkish, Greek and Balkan flavors into a laid-back community restaurant. With final inspections underway, the family plans to open soon, evolving their two-year caffeine success story into a bigger kitchen and bakery operation built around locals who already treat the cafe like a regular stop.
From Coffee Counter To Kitchen
As reported by FOX5, Alchemy Coffee owners Rita Sopi and her family launched the shop about two years ago and are now leading the So Sofra buildout next door. Sopi told the station, "So Sofra is a Mediterranean food. We’re trying to bring that culture and that fusion of the Balkans here in Las Vegas." She credited loyal customers with helping Alchemy weather rising costs and other pressures, and said the new restaurant is designed to feel like a home away from home for neighbors, not just another place to grab a quick bite.
Where To Find It
Alchemy Coffee lists its address as 5660 South Hualapai Way, Suite 104 in Summerlin on its website, and food guides such as Eater Vegas spotlight the cafe for Turkish coffee and baklava-inspired drinks. So Sofra will take over the adjacent retail bay that previously housed a local pizza shop, the owners said. The move keeps the business in the same strip center and lets the family build on its established morning crowd while stretching into more robust lunch and dinner service.
Small-Business Context
The timing is gutsy. New business formations in Clark County have been tapering off: FOX5, citing the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, reported more than 11,000 business starts in 2021, roughly 3,500 in 2024 and just 631 in 2025. Sopi said those numbers reflect how tough it is to keep a small shop afloat, but that neighborhood support has kept their doors open. So Sofra, in that context, is a modest but pointed wager on community dining and local resilience rather than a flashy big-strip expansion.
What To Expect
The owners say So Sofra will lean heavily on baking and family recipes rooted in Albanian and broader Balkan traditions, layered with Turkish and Greek dishes. Alchemy's website already highlights Mediterranean-inspired pastries and baklava on its menu, and those influences will carry over into the new kitchen. There is no fixed grand-opening date yet; the family says they are finishing inspections and will share an official launch once everything clears. For now, the project stands as a tidy case of a neighborhood cafe scaling up into a full-service restaurant while staying anchored to the regulars who helped build it.
