el meraki

Dear friends,
We hope this message finds you well and full of light as we begin a new year.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you once again for supporting el meraki through Crowdify. Your trust, generosity, and belief in our vision made it possible for us to build and grow this project, and you continue to be an essential part of our story 🤍

As you may know, the past months have brought important changes for us. After a beautiful chapter at our previous location, El Meraki has moved and is beginning a new phase. Today, we are incredibly happy to share some wonderful news with you:

✨ el meraki will open its doors again on January 3rd at our new home ✨

We are now collaborating with Dulzura Argenta, a lovely pastry and bakery project led by two Argentinian women, who generously invited us to join them in their space. This collaboration was born from mutual respect, shared values, and a love for community — and we feel deeply grateful for their openness and trust.

At this new location, we will continue offering our delicious vegetarian and vegan food, prepared with the same care, intention, and love that you have always known from el meraki.

We wanted to share this moment with you — our donors, friends, and community — because your support helped make all of this possible. Thank you for walking alongside us, through change, growth, and new beginnings.

With so much gratitude and joy in our hearts, we wish you a wonderful new year.

With much love,
Andrea & the el meraki team 🌿

We would like to share an important update with you. After many discussions, negotiations, and careful consideration, we were unfortunately unable to find a sustainable way to remain at our current location. Therefore, we are now preparing to move 📦

Our last day at our current location will be December 28 🗓️

This decision was neither easy nor planned, and it comes with mixed feelings. This space has held so many unforgettable moments, shared meals, art, conversations, laughter, and genuine heartfelt connections.

We are now looking for a new solution and a new home for el meraki, with the intention of reopening in January. We will share updates with you soon 💌

Thank you for being part of this journey – for your support, your presence, and your trust. This is not an end, but a transition 💫

Happy holidays and a wonderful end to the year.

Lots of love,
el meraki
🫶🏼

Three years ago, el meraki was born from our hearts – a place of peace, inspiration, and community on Isla Mujeres. Since then, we’ve been committed to keeping this vision alive. Especially now, in challenging times, we work as a team every day to find creative solutions that help el meraki stand on its own two feet.

Despite everything, we firmly believe that our concept contributes to the well-being of the island – perhaps on a small scale, but with real impact. And the feedback from our guests reminds us of this every day: they rave about the calm, the sense of slowing down, the service, the food and drinks, the events – and the good vibes they experience with us.

We want to take this moment to thank everyone who has supported us – through visits, kind words, sharing our story, or financial help. The past few months have been financially challenging. The last low season hit Isla Mujeres hard – some restaurants sadly had to close their doors. The fact that we’re still here is thanks to your support.

Our goal remains: to make el meraki financially sustainable. That’s proving to be more complex than expected – also due to external factors beyond our control.

Looking ahead, we’re committed to keeping el meraki open and growing. We’re planning new collaborations with other small local projects to expand our offerings and reach. There are also a few more ideas in the works – but we’ll share more on that in our next newsletter…

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Lots of love,
el meraki
🫶🏼

Dear friends,

el meraki has been open as a café again for 2 months now.☕️🍽️ During this time, we have tried, learned and adjusted a lot - based on the numerous responses from our wonderful guests.

We are very grateful for all the learning tasks that we have already solved and for all those that are still to come in order to keep growing.🌱✨

Of course, el meraki is still in its infancy, so everything is new and amazing. And there is a lot of potential that can still be developed...🦋

Last week, we had a visit from a food blogger who wrote an article about el meraki, which we are happy to share with you here: foodmusings.ca

Over the next few weeks, we want to become better known in order to reach more people.👫👬👭 With its unconventional concept, el meraki is unique on Isla Mujeres and we are happy about all the guests we can do something good for.

We are very grateful for all the support that our friends have given us along the way, so that el meraki can continue to grow and flourish.💖

Lots of love,
el meraki
🫶🏼

Dear friends,

The day has finally come when "el meraki" can open its doors again to pamper its guests with healthy and honest food prepared with love and care 🌱✨

After a break of a few months, el meraki is back with a completely new menu📜 and exudes its charm with a fresh, simple, healthy and creative offering 🍉🥦🥑🍏

We are infinitely happy and grateful to see el meraki revived and to share everything we stand for: Food. Soul. Community. Love. 🙌

We wish you all a happy new year and all the best for the new year 🌟

Lots of love,
el meraki
🫶🏼


By the way: You can find more information and our menu on the website www.el-meraki.com 🤗

Dear friends,
We have been asked a few times in the last weeks, if we have any news to share and when el meraki will open it’s doors again.

First of all we would like to thank you for your patience. And also for sending us your love and good wishes💫 The last weeks brought us on one hand uncertainties and on the other hand a pause to introspect and reflect the experiences at el meraki, at least the 5 weeks we were in operation until we faced the challenge with the sewage and related permits ⚒️

Being closed as a restaurant, we organized at least small events with our friends, to keep the space alive and to nourish it with good vibes🎤🧘☕️🛸🎶💃🦋 Thanks to everyone who is contributing during this time 🥰

Until now we can‘t share some news. But we know that the bureaucratic process moves slowly⏳ For sure our patience is tested and we have to trust in the flow of life, during we can‘t do anything out of our own efforts.

We really want to reopen el meraki as soon as possible. As a goal we have an opening date in our mind and we are working towards it with all our heart 💛 Please bare with us a little longer. We will share news on our social media channels and verbally.

We are sending you our best energy and thoughts always.

Lots of love
Andrea & Daniela
🫶🏼

Dear friends,

In the last few weeks, at el meraki we have experienced some challenges that have left us clueless at times. Now it's time to stop, take a deep breath and find the solution 🙏🏻

el meraki has been open for 5 weeks and we have had people with us every day enjoying the food, drinks and space. They feel comfortable and can take a break with us 😌

We have also offered first events like meditation and music and feel that el meraki touches the hearts with its unique energy✨

So: el meraki is alive and growing. Only something unforeseen happened...

Recently, we noticed that our sewage is not properly connected to the sewer system and this must be corrected first so that we can continue to operate as a restaurant.

Last week we decided to pause the restaurant operation of el meraki for a moment to take the necessary steps to ensure we have a solid foundation.

We are doing our best, that we can solve this situation together with the responsible experts to resume the operation very soon 🫶🏼

Even though these challenges test us a lot on all levels, we know from experience that they help us to grow and point out blind spots to which we may give even more attention 🪔

At this point, we thank all our friends who are there for us and stand by us in these perplexing and emotional moments. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💗

And now: off to new shores 💫💫

Lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela

The time has come: el meraki is ready and opens its doors on Tuesday, 28th of February 2023 🙌🏼💓

Almost a year has passed since the idea of a special place on Isla Mujeres was born. A place of encounter, exchange, enjoyment - for body, mind and soul 💫

The last few months have been intense on all levels and have continued to shape el meraki 🪴 It feels like we are now moving into a new phase with the opening. There remains much to develop and learn 🙏🏻

el meraki will offer space for quite a lot of possibilities: In addition to healthy, delicious and organic food, we will offer an oasis that will allow for cultural and artistic expression in the form of events and activities 🎨🧘‍♀️🪘🎤🎶

We look forward to this next phase of our heart project. And of course to everyone who is visiting us at el meraki✨

Opening hours:
Tuesday - Sunday
9 am - 2.30 pm

Dear Merakis

HAPPY 2023! Hope you have started the new year joyful 🎆

Almost 1 month has passed since the crowdfunding closed with success. A lot has happened since then and we would like to share some highlights with you....

- The remodeling is in its final stages 🪜
- Walls are being painted and decorated 🎨
- Lighting and decoration is set up 💡
- The first kitchen equipment are in place 🔪
- The menu is finalizing 💌
- The delivery of the furniture and the espresso machine is scheduled for next week 🪑
- The first delivery of the (mexican!) coffee beans has arrived ☕️
- We have our team together 👫👭
- Many formalities are in progress 🥸

In addition, we are in the process of preparing the crowdfunding goodies for delivery. It is planned that the goodies will arrive at our boosters still in January 💌

We would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU once again from the bottom of our hearts! 🙏🏻 Thank you for making it possible with your support that el meraki can open its doors soon.

We have the goal to celebrate the opening still in January. There is a lot to do for that - we stay on.... 💪🏼

👉 If you'd like to continue receiving regular updates of el meraki, sign up for our e-newsletter or connect with us on Instagram or Facebook. You can find the links on our website www.el-meraki.com

We send you many greetings from Isla and
lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela
🫶🏼

Hola familia,

The time has come, the final is here!

In our Crowdfunding we have 3 days left to reach 100% of the target amount, so we can enable el meraki to do everything we set out to do 🙌🏼

🎥 In this video you will again find the voices of people who live here on Isla Mujeres sharing why they can no longer live without el meraki: youtu.be

Thank you for joining us in this final spurt and continuing to support us so wonderfully and wholeheartedly with boosting & sharing✨🤍✨

Remember: Every contribution counts 🧩

Lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela
🫶🏼

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
#bestteamever

Hola familia

A lot has happened in the last weeks. Also in the last days a lot has moved. We would like to share a part of it with you... 🤩

The remodeling work is going on, even if it still looks a bit chaotic 🪜⚒️

Together with Consu, our gastronomy pro, we got the industrial stove and a big fridge for our kitchen in Cancun and shipped them to the island by cargo ferry ⛴️

We made plans for which kitchen appliances would be placed where, for optimal workflow 💡

We started preparing the walls upstairs to give them a fresh new color 👨‍🎨

And the menu for the delicious food at el meraki is also in creation... 📜

So, a lot of progress is being made, that el meraki is ready to open its doors soon 😍

In this video we have captured some impressions of the last days for you: youtu.be

In our crowdfunding, we have 6 days left to reach 100% of the target amount so that we can make everything possible for el meraki that we have set out to do 🙌🏼

Thank you for accompanying us into this final sprint and continuing to support us so wonderfully and wholeheartedly ✨🤍✨

Lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela
🫶🏼

Hello dear friends,

We have asked to describe el meraki in a few words. And we are fascinated and touched by how easy this was for our interview guests…

Here you find our new video: youtu.be

11 days left in our crowdfunding. Yesterday we cracked the 75% mark and we are soooo happy about it. Of course we are doing everything we can to reach the remaining 25% as well. Because only at 100% el meraki receives the donated money to be able to go with both stages into the implementation.

We ask you from the bottom of our hearts to flow with us through these last 11 days to share the crowdfunding project with everyone. We can't do it alone - but with the great support of each and every one of you it’s possible!

Thank you amazing friends.

With lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela
<3

Hola familia

Wow, thanks to your great support in the last weeks we are already much closer to our goal - 60% could already be collected.

The el meraki is now experiencing an important phase in its development: the remodeling work is progressing and from a deep hole and a mess our new place is rising, making our inner child jump out of joy.

Now it's time to "keep at it", because crowdfunding works on the all-or-nothing principle: we only receive donations if the target amount is 100% reached.

So we are still dependent on your active support.

Even an amount of 20 francs helps wonderfully. Because even if many people donate smaller amounts, a whole bunch comes together.

In the following video we would like to express once again how important el meraki is here on Isla Mujeres: youtu.be

Let's use the remaining 17 days in the best possible way to give the el meraki the necessary momentum to spread its wings and touch people's hearts.

Lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela

Hola el meraki familia

Thank you so much for your wonderful boosts, support and energy that you are sharing with us. We feel so uplifted and carried.

Great news: Last week the remodeling works have started at el meraki. All the pipes for water, sewage, electricity and gas are being relaid. In addition, there is coming up a stable kitchen roof and new toilets.

We regularly go by the construction site to be up close and personal with the remodeling of el meraki. As so often in life, it looks like a mess at first, before alignment and clarity follow. We are excited to see what new things can now emerge...

Our crowdfunding is now at 47%. So we still need 53% to reach the target amount and we have 27 days left to collect these donations. Crowdfunding works on the all-or-nothing principle: we only receive the donated money, if we reach the set amount. Of course, that makes it all the more exciting :)

We thank you for continuing to share the project with your friends, family and everyone you know, so that the crowdfunding is watered and el meraki can grow and flourish steadily.

Lot‘s of love,
Andrea & Daniela

Hola familia

"You are a piece of el meraki"

Wow, what a great start the crowdfunding for el meraki has had. We are overwhelmed and super happy that after only 7 days of running, 40% of the target amount has already been received.

Thank you for your Boost and for sharing this project. By doing so, you are sending a message to us that we are on the right path.

We would like to share some wonderful news with you: el meraki has a place! Yes, really. After a short time back here on Isla Mujeres we found a fantastic place in a great location. It immediately felt right and we decided to make this place home for el meraki.

In a short video you as a supporter get an exclusive insight into our new place: youtu.be

We hope you feel the magic of this new home as much as we do :)

For the Crowdfunding it is still immensely important to stay tuned. So that we can still get the remaining 60% together and give el meraki a fabulous start...

We are happy that you are walking the path with us. Thank you for being part of el meraki.

Lots of love,
Andrea & Daniela