There is a moment in every dream where you have to decide: keep imagining, or take the leap.

For me, that moment came during one of the most beautiful and chaotic weeks of my life. Bally and I got married and opened Rosas Café in the same week. Actually, we held the pre-opening party for Rosas the evening before our wedding. Looking back, I cannot believe we did that, but somehow it felt completely right.

Let me back up a bit, because this story really starts years before that, scattered across continents and tucked into the corners of my life in fashion.

Collecting Inspiration

During my career in the fashion industry, I was constantly surrounded by beautiful things and inspiring people. Despite my hectic schedule, running from worldwide fashion shoots, or traveling from Cape Town to Milan to Dubai, I always took time to notice what moved me.

Architecture. Food. Fine art. Fashion, of course. The way a certain café in Paris made you want to linger. How a restaurant in Milan balanced elegance with ease. The colors in a Shanghai sunset, the energy of a Marrakesh market.

I collected it all like treasures, not really knowing what I would do with them, just trusting that someday they would matter.

My dream was always to bring those inspirations to life. To create a cozy setting that would showcase my personal passions and experiences: healthy food, beautiful decoration, fashion and my absolute love of animals, particularly dogs.

I wanted to build something that reflected everything I believed in, integrity, community, family, creativity.

Even though my career took me around the world, I always considered Marbella home. The cosmopolitan culture, the lifestyle, the warmth of the Costa del Sol. It felt right. If I was going to create something, it would be here.

The Almost-Deal

We were so close.

We had been approached to open Rosas inside a Marbella luxury hotel. Everything was moving forward. The vision was clear. The excitement was building. And then, just a couple of months before we were due to open, our vision and theirs stopped aligning. Negotiations stalled. The dream seemed to slip away.

I remember feeling devastated. We had put so much heart into it already.

But you know what they say, everything happens for a reason.

Two Proposals, One Week

When Bally proposed marriage, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. But what came next surprised me even more.

He suggested that we should open Rosas ourselves. Not in someone else's hotel, not under someone else's vision. Ours. Completely ours.

My answer to both proposals was the same: "Yes!"

Within days, we found the perfect location. It felt like fate. With a huge leap of faith and absolute belief in what we wanted to create, we began the journey. The construction lasted two and a half months, with sleepless nights, endless meetings with architects and suppliers, perfecting every detail, worrying that maybe others wouldn't see what we saw.

But we kept going.

June 2018

We opened our doors in June 2018 and honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect.

What I wanted to create was a place where people felt at home. Where healthy, homemade food met beautiful design. Where you could bring your whole family, including your dog. Where fashion and art lived alongside warmth and community. I wanted integrity in every choice we made, from the coffee we served to the way we welcomed each guest.

I wasn't trying to fill a gap in the market. I simply believed this was something people would love. A place for the community to hang out, to feel comfortable, to return to again and again.

The response has been beyond anything I imagined. From the very beginning, we've been embraced, by locals who made us part of their daily routine, by tourists who visit us before they've even unpacked, by families celebrating milestones, by solo workers finding their corner, by friends gathering over brunch.

What Rosas Means

People often ask why I called it Rosas Café when my favorite flower is actually lilies. The answer is simple: When I designed the café, I decorated the walls with 30,000 silk roses in six different shades, which brought the effect of color and life to everything you see around you.

Also, not to forget, in Spanish, the word "Rosas" means not only the flower roses but also shades of pink. So the name carries this double meaning that felt perfect for what we were creating.

So Rosas it became. And now, those roses represent so much more, the layers of beauty, the care in every detail, the warmth we want you to feel when you walk through our doors.

The Journey Continues

From our first location in Marbella to opening our Sotogrande location earlier this year. summer The vision hasn't changed. If anything, it's only grown stronger as we bring Rosas Café to more communities, to create more spaces where people can gather, connect, work, celebrate and simply be.

And indeed, in Sotogrande, we have the same heart, the same values, the same commitment to quality and community. Just putting down new roots.

Looking back at that week in 2018, getting married and opening Rosas almost simultaneously, I am so grateful we said yes. To love, to partnership, to our dream and yes, even to some risk.

But as they say, nothing that is worth doing is easy, or without risk. And now it pays off. Because Rosas Café has become so much more than a café. It's become a home-from-home for so many of us, including me.

Looking forward to welcoming you all there.

With love,
Ana

Next: I'll tell you why Rosas Café is more than just a beautiful cafe (though we do love being pretty). I want to share how we work to keep you all (hopefully) coming back.