La Oficina Bar opening on Cesar Chavez Street

La Oficina Bar opening on Cesar Chavez Street
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | April 2026

Sometimes you need to stay late at the office, however in a few months “the office” may not just be your place of work but rather the newest neighborhood bar on the West Side. La Oficina is slated to open by April 5 in the former Papa Legba’s Lounge at 202 Cesar Chavez St. Owner Judy Lopez, who also owns La Costa Mexican Sports Bar & Grill just two doors down, is eager to see her new venture come to life.

The 60-person space can fit 30 at the bar and will be outfitted with new televisions, dart boards and a jukebox that allows people to request songs directly from their phones. Contrasted to the lively Mexican music always found at La Costa, Lopez expects La Oficina will bump and hum with new and old school pop music, R&B and more. Classic bar grub will be offered, including nachos and pizza. Hours are expected to be 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-1 a.m., weekends.

“I feel bad for the customers who want to come in [to La Costa] at 10 p.m. [on weekdays] and we’re already closed. Now we’ll have a nice place to send them,” said Lopez. “Some of the customers who come to La Costa call it La Oficina – ‘I’ll see you at the office’ – so they kind of came up with the name.

“We’ve outgrown the La Costa space already and sometimes struggle when we’re so busy in here,” she added.
Lopez hopes to start a dart league at La Oficina and perhaps bring in occasional live music. Sports, including the FIFA Soccer World Cup and UFC events, will be aired regularly. Looking ahead, she plans to explore creating a patio in an unused portion of the parking lot just outside the building.

Lopez said the former owners of Papa Legba’s approached her about acquiring their space, and she signed the lease last fall. The interior had been recently remodeled, so no work was needed aside from cosmetic improvements. Part of her decision to open a second business is her desire to help keep the Cesar Chavez Street corridor as vibrant as possible.

Unlike many immigrant-owned restaurants, La Costa has remained open since the federal government launched Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities late last year. Some closed permanently, others temporarily due to widespread fear among owners and employees of being detained or harassed by federal officers regardless of citizenship or other legal status.

“December was really slow,” said Lopez. “It was really bad, and there was a rumor that we were feeding ICE [agents] in La Costa and that I had fired all my immigrant employees. That’s absolutely not true and it’s sad that people would come up with that…. My sister Beverly Rodriguez passed away as a lieutenant [with the St. Paul Police Department] so we get a lot of support from the St. Paul police. Maybe that’s kind of where somebody falsely thought of it.”

Lopez said business has picked up and she’s looking forward to the West Side Cinco de Mayo fiesta in May. She’s a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, but mostly grew up in Texas. From an early age she and her family spent their summers working sugar beet fields in Minnesota, and they officially moved to the state when she was in middle school. Following high school graduation, she received an associate’s degree in accounting from Minneapolis Business College and worked writing mortgage loans until the housing market crashed in 2008. At that time she pivoted into real estate. It was in 2016 when she found La Costa’s current home, formerly El Amanecer Restaurant, which had operated for about 35 years before being foreclosed, she said. She opened La Costa just a year later after remodeling. She still dabbles in real estate but her entertainment businesses are her primary focus.

“I thought it [food industry] was going to be an easy job to handle and, oh my goodness, I think it’s one of the hardest things to get yourself into,” she said. “But I had the mindset that I can do this. I have always been very, very driven.”

Lopez has four sons, ages 10, 11, 19 and 23, and she’s optimistic she’ll be able to hand off the keys to her businesses to one of them some day. If you visit La Oficina on April 5, be sure to wish her a happy birthday.

“We’re grateful for all our loyal customers,” said Lopez. “It’s been a journey, but it’s been good…. I’m proud to be Latina and I think it’s always important that the community comes together and supports each other.”