Jasmine Allgood opened Tintos & Tapas on Feb. 19, 2019. Allgood transformed an old clothing store into a Colombian café, situated alongside the same stretch of road as Café on Broadway, Pure Joy and Fratelli’s in downtown Siloam Springs. It had been her dream since she was in her twenties to open a café, and for a short period of time, she saw her dream come true. Now, with great sadness, the sun is setting on Tintos & Tapas.
Born in New York City, Allgood is a native U.S. citizen with Colombia-native parents. She was raised in a Colombian household with a “typical Hispanic family” culture that “held strong to their roots.” She knew the Colombian practices and the American ones, but her life changed when she visited Colombia for the first time. Allgood said she was around 15 or 16 years old during her first trip to visit extended family she had never met before, and suddenly, a whole piece of her made sense. She gained a deeper appreciation for being an American, but the trip was also “an awakening for me,” she said. Allgood described it as like when the kids in Australia go on a walkabout. It was a journey of self-discovery, knowing where her roots came from, seeing the amazing culture in person, having the food, the music, traditions—it all suddenly clicked.
Drinking coffee and eating food together is a big part of those cultures. When Allgood’s parents bought a coffee plantation, she wondered how cool it would be to import it to the U.S. Her brother and sister in fact bought the neighboring farms, and she wanted to do her part in opening a Colombian café that would showcase those beans. Allgood realized the competition she would face, with Café on Broadway on the same street and Pour Jons around the corner, but she wanted to offer something with more Latin American flare. It would be something unique in Siloam Springs, even from the Mexican and Salvadorean food nearby; Colombian flavors aren’t so much spicy as sweet and savory. Allgood started with a small menu that eventually grew.
While the dream was becoming a reality, it wasn’t without its struggles. Allgood admitted, “Culturally, there were challenges.” People had to be introduced to this new cuisine and new flavors, they had to be willing to try something different. “Sometimes different can be intimidating,” she said. “It wasn’t for everyone.” However, Allgood added, “People would become customers even though it wasn’t what they expected,” and they developed a fanbase.
In April or May of 2020, when COVID-19 hit, Allgood said it really affected the new business owner. However, she said, they made more profit that year than the one before when they first opened. That’s not unusual for small businesses. They tend to continue making more money year after year but only become actually profitable after five years. Allgood’s parents had to sell their coffee plantations when COVID-19 hit. They were getting old, and the labor was too much. Allgood began getting her coffee from Bad Dog Beanery and Confident Coffee Roasters who also provide Colombian coffee.
Towards the end of the second year of business, Allgood started to feel excruciating neck and shoulder pain. A doctor explained she had two herniated discs in the neck pinching on nerves which led into the shoulders and arms. She was ordered to take it easy. “The restaurant business is not easy,” she said. She was working both as an occupational nurse and running the restaurant on top of taking care of her kids in the time in-between.
Some mornings, Allgood couldn’t get up in the morning due to the excruciating pain. She was able to get some injections in her neck but was warned that the damage to her neck could lead to destruction in her bones. At this point, Allgood felt she wasn’t fulfilling her service to the community, her staff, and to her family.
After long conversations and prayer, Allgood decided to be there for her family, which meant taking care of her health. “My family is the most important thing to me besides God,” she emphasized.
Tintos & Tapas has only been open for three years. In this short stretch of time, Allgood was still able to make an impact on the community. Annette Reyes, who has worked with Allgood since the restaurant first opened, said, “I always felt Tintos was a really warm place.” She said she felt it was more about educating the community about the food than making money, and about bringing people together with the food.
“More of our regulars were white than Hispanic,” Reyes added. She explained it may be harder for Hispanic people to come because they are used to how it is “supposed” to taste and are more critical to fusions, which is something Allgood liked to do. Reyes said she saw the customers leave content and Latino customers come “wanting a piece of home” with those familiar flavors. Reyes said she would watch Allgood cook the food herself, always from scratch and fresh as it could be. She said it made her feel more comfortable as a waitress, because she knew the food would sell itself. “I was proud to work there,” she said.
Myah Collard who worked at Tintos & Tapas from June 2021 to present day said, “Tintos is definitely something different. It’s not you know what I think Siloam Springs has to offer.” She also added, “Siloam will be losing some variety, something so unique.”
Currently, while Allgood and staff members like Collard are preparing the restaurant for sale, Allgood wants to stay open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. She is hoping to make this happen in the next weeks so the local residents still have a few last chances to stop in. Allgood wants to hand over the keys to someone who will continue the legacy. “This business is ready. Continue what we’ve started,” she said. She expressed interest in partnering with someone and work with them on the business. She said she just can’t keep running the day-to-day operation. Hopefully, by some miracle, the sun of Tintos & Tapas won’t set just yet. The warmth of not just their coffee, but of their mission, radiates distinctly within the busy little downtown corner of Siloam Springs—It will be missed.