[MUSIC] Hi, I'm Rosey Alvero, your SoCal Wanderer.

Today, on this beautiful day, we're going to meet Lara Curtis.

Lara experienced a serendipitous calling and took a chance to open Mingles Tea Bar.

I'm a tea over coffee type of Lady, so this is right up my alley.

Join me for a cup of tea.

[MUSIC] This is a very nice part of Inglewood.

I've never seen it.

It's very cute and sweet.

I think Inglewood received a bad rap, especially when they used to refer to it as Inglehood.

They put up this whole persona like it was tough but it's really not, it's very family-oriented.

Tell me your inspiration behind Mingles Tea Bar.

One day, I was driving down Crenshaw, and I saw this building and I started getting this excitement about-- -You got butterflies?

-Yes.

I called the number on the building and I said, "I want to do a tea bar and coffee."

He was like, "Oh, my goodness, can you meet me back there in 45 minutes?"

That's the business we've been wanting to put in that building."

He took us up on the rooftop.

I kid you not, when I got to the rooftop, I actually heard God say "Build it."

To have people plant seeds of encouragement in me and tell me to keep going, don't stop, is what kept me going.

Also knowing and believing that this is where God had wanted me to be.

I can't wait to check out how Lara's epiphany became reality.

She needed a moment to get the shop ready.

She practically runs it by herself with a little help from her mom and niece.

I hop on my skateboard and cruise around the neighborhood.

All I can say is Inglewood does not disappoint.

[MUSIC] Hi, Lara.

-Hey, Rosey.

-It's so cute here.

I can see why you love the building.

Oh, thank you so much.

Welcome to Mingles Tea Bar.

We are in the middle of our waffle breakfast.

That's my mom.

-Hi.

-That's Jewell.

-Hi, Jewell.

-She's the one that's always here doing the breakfast.

This is the orange room.

-I love it.

-As you can see -the affirmations on the wall.

-The affirmations are everywhere.

This is the kitchen area where we prepare our tea and everything else.

We don't talk about religion and we don't talk about politics.

You leave that at the door?

It's a non-judgmental, safe space and your opinion is your opinion.

We've had some heated discussions over relationships, jobs, normal stuff.

Up here in the front, we call this the blue room.

This is where people come and they hang out.

Tell me the significance of the colors.

You have a blue room, you have an orange room.

I suffered from depression, like really bad.

Years ago, working at this job, I went over to this gentleman, his name is Tim, I'll never forget.

He had neon copy paper pinned up in his cubicle and I'm like, "That's strange."

I always ask questions.

I was like, "Tim, what's with the orange paper?"

He said, "Well, my therapist told me that when I get depressed, orange helps to lift your spirit."

I forgot about it for years until I started Mingle -and knew I wanted to do the wall orange.

-Then that came back to you?

That came back to me because that's where I spend majority of the time.

That's why anytime I'm in there, I'm surrounded by orange.

After the tour, I meet the folks that bring Mingles to life.

Richard is almost our VVIP because he's here every day.

Every day?

Every day.

Every day.

What makes you come back every day?

My sarcasm.

-She lifts me up with her sarcasm.

-I do.

I keep him in reality.

You come here often?

We're here every Tuesday.

I live locally.

I just Yelp because I like supporting different black-owned businesses.

I was looking for a coffee shop and I ran across Mingles.

I Yelped it, loved it and now I've been coming for several years.

After getting to know the regulars, I want to get a taste of Lara's signature teas.

What are we going to have?

We were going to let you try For Her.

For Her.

It's on that shelf.

For Her actually has Shatavari in it, which is an herb that comes from the asparagus vegetable.

It's to help women fight off free radicals and toxins in our body due to stress and anxiety.

We also have the counterpart, which is called For Him, which has nothing to do with calming a man whatsoever.

I don't know why they did that one.

We serve in a French press.

That way, you can actually see the tea leaves brewing, you can see the water changing colors, you can smell the tea steeping which is amazing.

What you can do is take the press out, put in three scoops.

Hit the unlock and then dispense.

Fill it up.

Let's do something fruity because you have this one.

Let's do the For Her cocktail.

Add the water.

There you go.

You're a pro.

Do you need a job?

All right.

Now, let's take you over to get you started.

Yay.

Cheers.

Tea date, tea time.

-The first of many.

-Yes.

The practice of having tea, it's such a moment.

It's not like any other beverage where you just go.

-Go and rush.

-You take it and you go and you rush.

If you're having tea, it's a little bit of time.

You have to sip it.

You have to sip it, you have to smell it, you have to steep it.

It definitely causes you to slow down.

Success to me means that somebody somewhere woke up that day and said, "I'm going to go to Mingles."

If they came to Mingles and somehow their life-- Not to say like, "Oh, we waved a magic wand," and their life was better, but they felt a little lighter, a little better in leaving, that's success to me.

I keep pushing and I tell people, "If you want to be successful, keep pushing past the pain because there's going to be pain.

It seems like in moments when you doubt yourself or you feel lost, the community, or your family, or someone comes to you and says, "No, you've got this.

I feel for you.

How can I help you?"

-That must feel incredible.

-It's amazing.

It's the greatest thing ever.

I would never change a thing that I've gone through, and I've gone through a lot.

I know that this isn't the final resting stop.

I'm excited.

-I'm excited.

-Well, cheers to your leap of faith.

Cheers.

[LAUGHS] I feel inspired after spending the day with Lara and learning about her unique journey of perseverance and self-love.

Her blend of tenderness and sarcasm is reflected in everything around her.

Her shop, her customers, and her love for community.

I've never met someone so ready to give her time and attention to others and create a safe space for everyone to enjoy.

Lara has really made Mingles a place where everybody knows your name.

[MUSIC] SoCal Wanderer is made possible by the Wurwand Foundation's key initiative to support local entrepreneurs, FOUND/LA.