FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2026
Media Contact:
Franchesca Forrer
Blue Zones Project Palm Springs
760-861-1392
franchesca@bluezones.com
BLUE ZONES PROJECT PALM SPRINGS WELCOMES CAFE LA JEFA AS ITS NEWEST APPROVED RESTAURANT
Beloved Palm Springs coffee house and restaurant recognized for creating a vibrant community hub where nourishing food, meaningful connections, movement, and well-being come together.
PALM SPRINGS, CA — Blue Zones Project Palm Springs is proud to announce Cafe La Jefa as its newest Approved Restaurant, recognizing the café’s longstanding commitment to creating a place where healthy choices, authentic community, and joyful living naturally intersect.
Located inside the iconic Flannery Exchange, Cafe La Jefa has become much more than a neighborhood coffee house and restaurant. Since opening in 2021, owners Erika and Mike Flannery have intentionally cultivated a welcoming destination where residents and visitors gather to enjoy wholesome, Latin-inspired food and handcrafted beverages, connect with friends, experience live music, participate in unique activities, and embrace an active desert lifestyle. The restaurant recently launched Run Club in partnership with Active CVto further encourage walking, running, and community movement as part of everyday life.
As a Blue Zones Project Approved Restaurant, Cafe La Jefa joins a growing network of local establishments committed to making healthy choices easier while fostering environments where people can build meaningful relationships and experience greater well-being.
“Well-being grows in places where people feel welcome, connected, and inspired to care for themselves and one another,” said Palm Springs Mayor Naomi Soto. “At Cafe La Jefa nourishing food, local culture, movement, and community come together in a way that reflects the very best of Palm Springs.”
Founded by Erika and Mike Flannery, Cafe La Jefa reflects the couple’s passion for healthy living, thoughtful hospitality, and creating spaces that strengthen community. Together, they also developed Flannery Exchange into a thriving home for locally owned businesses, creative entrepreneurs, and well-being inspired experiences that encourage connection and collaboration.
“From the very beginning, our dream was to create more than a café,” said Erika Flannery, co-owner of Cafe La Jefa. “We wanted to build a place where people feel energized, inspired, and genuinely connected—to good food, good coffee, movement, creativity, and each other. Well-being has always been personal to us. It’s something we strive to support every day through our menu, our team, and the experiences we create for our community. Becoming a Blue Zones Project Approved Restaurant is an honor because it reflects the values we’ve believed in from day one.”
Cafe La Jefa’s menu emphasizes fresh, quality ingredients, organic specialty coffees and teas, wholesome breakfast and lunch offerings, and handcrafted beverages like their Blueberry Matcha and Lotus Energy drinks are designed to fuel active lifestyles without sacrificing flavor. New dishes like the Garden Fit breakfast are inspired by Blue Zones, and customer favorites like the Acai Bowl feature plant-based ingredients. Every aspect of the café reflects its mission of making healthy living approachable, delicious, and enjoyable.
“Blue Zones Project is about creating environments where healthy choices become the easy choices,” said Mihai Patru, Executive Director of Blue Zones Project Palm Springs. “Cafe La Jefa embodies that vision in a truly authentic way. Whether someone comes for a nourishing meal, joins the Run Club, attends rooftop yoga, enjoys live music, or simply gathers with friends over coffee, they’re experiencing a space intentionally designed to support physical, social, and emotional well-being. Erika and Mike have created something that extends far beyond food—they’ve built a destination where community thrives.”
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About Blue Zones in Riverside County
Blue Zones Project® is brought to Riverside County by Blue Zones and leading organizations Riverside University Health System – Public Health, Inland Empire Health Plan Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare, and Eisenhower Health. In collaboration with the County of Riverside and the Cities of Riverside, Banning, Palm Springs, and Coachella, this innovative partnership brings together private and public organizations under a shared vision to support, build, and measurably improve community well-being across the County. Blue Zones Projects have launched in Riverside, Banning, Coachella, and Palm Springs, while Mead Valley begins a policy-focused Blue Zones Activate. Over five years, local leadership and the local Blue Zones Project teams will implement the Blue Zones Life Radius® model to make healthy choices easier throughout the region through permanent and semi-permanent changes to the built environment, food environment, public policies, and social networks. www.bluezonesprojectpalmsprings.com
