Mary Lou Tiquet knew Kirkland was the perfect place to open her own business.

“I have lived here for 17 years and just love this community,” she said. “I think the best description for Kirkland is the term, ‘cozy.’ It’s a wonderful place to live in.”

Tiquet bought a small coffee stand across from Juanita Beach in August and reconstructed it from the ground up.

She calls it Kona Moka Cafe and opened for business late November.

“It’s been great getting to serve our community,” Tiquet said. “We already have some regulars.”

Tiquet named the shop after her sister’s two dogs Kona and Moka, who passed away a few years ago.

“I didn’t want to have a cliche name for the shop, I wanted the name to be meaningful,” Tiquet said. “Kirkland is a very dog-friendly area so we thought it would be a good idea to represent that in our shop.”

Employees pass out dog treats to owners that drive or walk to the drive-thru.

“I want to provide my customers with a special, personal experience each time they come here,” Tiquet said.

Tiquet also wants to have a special product for sale every month where a portion of the proceeds go to a local charity.

She is thinking of selling a travel mug with the Kona Moka Cafe logo on it next month.

“I really want to give back to the community in a special way,” she said.

The charity Tiquet is focused on right now is Meow Cat Rescue, located on 10600 NE 68th Street in Kirkland.

“I adopted animals from them and think they are a great place,” Tiquet said. “I love that I have the chance to use my shop to help others.”

Tiquet’s shop specializes in homemade coffees such as chai-tea lattes, pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider.

There are desserts, breakfast sandwiches and bagels from Blazing Bagels available for purchase.

“I am really committed to purchasing our coffee and our food from local small businesses,” Tiquet said. “There are so many great places around here and I want to support them.”

The coffee served at Kona Moka Cafe is from Rococo’s Coffee in Kirkland. The shop serves dessert from Laura’s Gourmet Bakery that includes brownies, cookies and mini bunt cakes. They have gluten free options and offer soy and almond milk.

“The focus is on having the best products out there,” Tiquet said.

And Tiquet knows about good food.

She operated a wholesale business for a few years selling desserts to businesses, including Costco.

“The vice president of Costco tried my tiramisu and decided to sell it at their store,” Tiquet said.

Tiquet hopes Kona Moka visitors will have the same reaction to the desserts at the cafe.

“I want this to be the place people think to stop at if they want to pick up dessert for dinner that night or for a friend’s birthday party,” she said. “I want them to know I will always have fresh, local food available.”

Kona Moka Cafe is located at, 9714 Northeast Juanita Drive in Kirkland.