Lacuna Kava Bar, Downtown Phoenix’s Urban Oasis

Lacuna Kava Bar, located on Roosevelt Row in the heart of Downtown Phoenix, is a place like no other. Serving specialty-brewed Kava, Kratom and CBD, this place is truly one-of-a-kind.

Lacuna Kava Bar has been open since 2019 and serves a wide-range of Kava, Kratom and CBD teas brewed fresh daily.

Kava is a crop from the Pacific islands and is known as “nature’s Xanax”. It has been used for over 3,000 years of the tribal people of the pacific to reach a deeper level of consciousness. Lacuna offers many different strains of Kava, that offer relaxation, alertness, energy and more.

Kratom is a tropical evergreen tree in the coffee family and is native to Asia. It has been used for the past 2,500 years as medicine. Lacuna offers various strains of Kratom to give drinkers their desired effect.

Only a little over a year old, this place has already established deep roots within the community.

Like any successful business, the thing that keeps Lacuna so popular is its customers. However, Lacuna does not have customers. Instead, they have a loyal and ever-growing tribe.

Lacuna’s tribe is made up of all types of people, from all walks of life. No matter where you go, you can find students, musicians, entrepreneurs, and more enjoying the atmosphere.

As soon as you enter, you’ll quickly forget you're downtown and instead feel like you're on a tropical island.

Lacuna is decorated with real pineapples, beautiful paintings all made by local artists, and lush green plants. On the back wall are three large flat screen tvs, that play clips of tropical beaches, rainforests, and showcase their menu. On the right side of the lounge is a stage. During the day people hang out on it and do homework, and by night is replaced by a local musician or singer.

Maja Peirce, 19, goes to Lacuna often to do homework and order Kava. She also goes with friends to hangout and have a good time. When asked about what she enjoys about Lacuna Kava bar, she could not name only one thing.

“I enjoy the atmosphere. They have beautiful art, everyone is extremely friendly, and they always have fantastic music!” Said Peirce.

Lacuna has built their tribe off of offering great products and a great place to hang out. Many of their regulars and “tribe members” have become workers, also known as Kavi Tenders at Lacuna as well, because they enjoyed the place so much.
Morgan Swift, 20, happens to be one of them. She was a regular at Lacuna for over a year, before getting hired in September.

While she loves everything about Lacuna, her favorite is the people.

“Lacuna is a very eclectic group of people, some of which I would have never met if it wasn’t for Lacuna. I made some amazing connections and made some of my best friends there,” said Swift.

Lacuna’s tribe, which grows each day, is best described as a family, and any tribe member of Lacuna can attest to that.

“When you frequent Lacuna you become a part of the tribe. It's one big family that constantly supports one another and promotes health and well-being.”

Phoenix Parker, 23, is a kavatender and Lacuna tribe member. His favorite thing about Lacuna is also the people.

“I really enjoy working at Lacuna Kava Bar simply because of all the people you get to meet, and the chance to educate people and bring people together,” said Parker.

Billy Conn, 29, is a Kavatender and local Phoenix artist who has his art in Lacuna. To him, Lacuna is not just a business, but a mindset.

“Lacuna is a mindset. It's not just a business, it's a place where people can come to be with like minded people and focus on positivity and spirituality. It offers a place where people can be in an uplifted state of mind while being able to focus on things like health, fitness, art and more.”

While many businesses faced hardships due to the pandemic, Lacuna did as well. The major hit was that Lacuna had a drop in customers and had to do only takeout for a couple of weeks.

“We had a loss in sales. And had to make adjustments,” said Conn.

However, they are back and better than ever, serving over 250 customers a week.

To help, Lacuna also developed an online shop to help with Covid. https://lacunakavabar.shop/

Find your island bliss and visit Lacuna today.

“Lacuna is Love. Lacuna is life.” - Parker.