WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A Catholic and a Baptist walk into a bar?
For Diane and Justin Walker, a miracle happened. One of many, it turns out.
The unlikely path to marriage started on opposite coasts, and involved bartending, a traveling barista and a pool table.
Diane Contreras was always a strong Catholic raised at San Antonio de Padua parish in Anaheim Hills. She had recently moved to the Washington suburbs, working for a micro coffee roaster called Vigilante. Justin Walker, who grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., was a bartender at a local bar and a practicing Baptist intrigued by Catholic teachings. Diane occasionally came into Justin’s bar to play pool, something she enjoyed doing with her family back in California.
“I was bartending by myself,” recalled Justin. “She comes into the bar by herself one time…and orders water. I recognized her because she would come in often with friends, and I became familiar with her laugh. God was always pinging something in my heart, like ‘all right you gotta talk to her’.”
In a chain of events that only the Holy Spirit could orchestrate, she looked up from the pool table just in time to see Justin’s smiling face behind the bar. She returned a big, welcoming smile, enough to give Justin the confidence to ask her out.
Flustered, Diane went to her car to leave, and Justin followed.
JUST MARRIED: JUSTIN AND DIANE WALKER ON THEIR WEDDING DAY AT SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ANAHEIM HILLS. COURTESY OF DIANE CONTRERAS
“I was replaying the moment in my head; I couldn’t believe I did that,” said Diane. “Then I saw Justin coming toward my car.”
Justin had tickets to a family night party and a game with a professional lacrosse team.
“I knocked on her window and just asked if she had a boyfriend, a real smooth line. When she said no, I thought—perfect— and invited her to the game.”
“It was like one ‘God moment’ after another,” recalled Diane. “We discovered we knew many people in common, and everyone said the same thing – Justin was the nicest guy in the world and, as it turns out, a famous local bartender because of his warm and welcoming personality.”
That game was one of many miracles.
For several years, Diane had been thinking and praying about building a place that was intentional and supportive so people could see how God worked in their typical day. She wanted to create a community for those who were alone, lost and looking to meet others.
“While I always had my group of friends, my church and my faith, I often went out by myself, engaging with the world, meeting strangers and hearing their stories, said Diane.”
The couple moved back to California, where Justin began classes for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) at San Antonio de Padua. Eventually, they got married. However, restarting their careers during the COVID-19 lockdowns proved challenging. Justin found a job as a tech recruiter in Costa Mesa, while Diane could not shake the idea of using coffee to build a sense of community.
“One day, while I was praying the Rosary, I got an image of a latte mug with Psalms written inside it. God showed me that we could convey a message through a small business connected to the community.”
MILAGROS COFFEE’S CONDIMENTS STATION IS REFERRED TO AS THE “PRAYER STATION.”
Thus, Milagros Coffee was born, and bright blue tents began appearing at parishes and Catholic events throughout Orange and L.A. Counties.
“We do pop-ups because we can go to different places; we’re not confined to a building. Our intention is to build fellowship, and everything is faith-based,” Diane explained.
When customers order a drink, it comes with a saint’s name on a card containing a prayer, which is called out when the drink is ready. Their motto is “pray while you wait,” encouraging the virtue
of patience. The condiments station is referred to as the “prayer station.” In addition to napkins, cream, sugar and stirrers, there are also slips of paper with verses from the Bible or Psalms. Guests can write down personal intentions and place them in a basket to be prayed over.
“We invite people into that space and allow the Holy Spirit to do the rest,” Diane stated.
Justin is now the Human Resources director at Sts. Simon & Jude parish in Huntington Beach but also works behind the counter at Milagros events. Diane is now working full time to give the Holy Spirit a venue through Milagros Coffee.
Milagros is promoted via Instagram, where it has built a large following. Followers can find out where Milagros will be next; not all events are church-related. They also participate in secular events like the Floral Park home tour in Santa Ana.
There is no charge for hosts to have a Milagros coffee pop-up at their events. In fact, Milagros donates 15% of the gross proceeds back to the sponsoring organization, making it a fundraiser for the hosts.
For more information, contact Diane Walker at [email protected] or follow on Instagram @milagroscoffeecompany.