Mishka’s Café is a small coffee shop in Davis that aims to create a welcoming environment similar to the European cafes that owner Sinisa Novakovic grew up going to in his hometown of Yugoslavia.

Novakovic opened up Mishka’s in 1995 while attending graduate school at UC Davis and after noticing that there weren’t as many coffee shops in the area.

Novakovic also said he loves what he does and believes that coffee shops are all about people, not just coffee.

“Having good coffee helps, but the key is to create an inviting, comfortable, cozy place with good lighting, good tables and comfortable seating.”

Novakovic shares that the lavender latte, the Patagonia honey latte and maple lattes have been current customer favorites, especially with the cold weather approaching. The cafe will also serve drinks made special for the holiday season like pumpkin and eggnog lattes.

He’s also against using non-organic coffee and guarantees that all of his coffee is organic.

“I don’t think you can serve the best if the best is laced with manmade chemicals,” he asserted. “I don’t care how much you paid for that cup of coffee, if it’s not organic, it’s not good for you.”

Another thing that makes Mishka’s unique is that it aims to be comfortable for everyone who goes there. Novakovic created as much comfortable seating as possible so that all customers have a place to sit.

“So many places purposefully put in benches without backs and really hard flat seating that is uncomfortable and is specifically designed to get you out of there as soon as possible,” he emphasized. “We believe in the opposite. We want you to feel at home, we want you to be cozy here and to have good lighting to be able to converse, read, whatever you are doing and be able to stay here as long as you want.”

Mishka’s Café will celebrate its 30th anniversary next June and is planning a big celebration. Novakovic appreciates and thanks everyone who continues to come into his cafe and hopes to continue doing this for many years to come.

“I mean the best thing about a coffee shop is it’s kind of a microcosm of the society as a whole and so you can pretty much meet anybody and interesting people from all walks of life make friends with everybody and it just feels like a true real community,” he shares. “I think that’s the whole point of a, you know, a real coffee shop to bring people together.”

He encourages anyone who hasn’t visited the café to visit and enjoy the welcoming atmosphere he’s created over the years.

“Some people only go to places that are familiar and identical,” he said. “If I’m in another town, I’m always seeking a small shop that is different, unique and doesn’t exist anywhere else. For people who are looking for that, we’re the place.”

Mishka’s is located at 610 2nd St. and is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.