Alex and Maura Lawrence Milia depart Outline and Café Arixi
Two of the co-founders of Mexico City’s Café Arixi and Outline, Alex and Maura Lawrence Milia, have left the business and returned to the UK.
Alex and Maura Lawrence Milia left London and opened Outline in partnership with Walter Meyenberg in late 2024, followed by Café Arixi in January 2025.
Maura was previously bar manager of Connaught Bar. Alex maintained his role as managing director at the Mr Lyan group while in Mexico, and was involved in the launch of Seed Library in New York City this month.
Speaking to The Spirits Business about the couple’s departure, Alex said: “The bottom line of it is that we were not culturally aligned with how the business was being conducted and the communication was being done.
“We made a call that it was best for us not to be involved. I was not involved fully from August, and Maura a little bit later. We made the decision that it was best to go home and rebuild.”
The Lawrence Milias were also involved in the opening of Copal in Oaxaca. It is believed that all three venues remain in operation without their involvement; however, Café Arixi’s Instagram account has been taken down, with rumours that the site is being rebranded.
The move to Mexico
“We left [London] because we’d hit a bit of a glass ceiling,” Alex explains. “I was interested in doing projects outside of the Lyan brands. Maura had been at the Connaught for 10 years – but I’m not here to tell Maura’s story. I certainly wouldn’t want to speak on her behalf.”
Their move to Mexico was therefore prompted by a desire to “do something different”. The partnership with Meyenberg – a family friend – fell into place, with the trio forming a group called MWA.
The Lawrence Milias initially emigrated with plans to open an Italian bar and restaurant, which later became Café Arixi. However, as soon as they landed, they were enlisted to help with Outline. That was quickly followed by a proposal to open Copal, a bar/restaurant in Oaxaca.
“We were like: Wow, this is all a dream come true,” says Alex.
The “general arrangement” was that the Lawrence Milias would focus on the creative and operations side, in terms of the day-to-day running of the venue, while the business, finance, fundraising and general back-of-house operations would be handled by the Foodie Groovy Group, which is led by Meyenberg.
The Foodie Groovy Group is also responsible for world-famous Mexican venues including Hanky Panky, Brujas and Huset.
“Each individual venue within the Foodie Groovy Group has different partners,” Alex explains. “In Mexico, it is very common to have multiple projects with multiple people, but underneath one company.”
However, the dream quickly turned sour, and Alex was no longer involved with Copal by the time it opened. “The communication was awful. There was no sense of control over anything,” he explains. “It became very clear that this was an extremely challenging cultural clash in terms of values and ethics.”
While Alex doesn’t wish to get into specific details, as well as a lack of communication, he alleges that many of the issues involved money. This caused a huge strain on the couple, who had self-financed their relocation.
As well as the tangible strains, the situation also took a psychological toll. “It removed all professional respect for myself and [created] a lot of self-doubt,” Alex admits. “It took me opening a bar in New York [Seed Library] to get that back – which is crazy, after the past decade or so.
“Opening Seed Library showed what it’s like to build a good culture with the right resources, the right communication, with the right partners. You can really pull off something special. But for a long time, I was like: Am I the problem?
“There’s an element of failure that creeps into the back of your head – but that’s all absolute nonsense, because I gained so much. It just cost us a lot: emotionally, financially and, I guess, time-wise.”
Returning to London
If he had a time machine, despite the pain, Alex would do it again. “The amount of perspective that gives you – working in very difficult conditions has given me a hyper awareness of quite how privileged we are here [in London]. And I think it’ll be very effective in the work I can do in the future, and the work Maura can do in the future.
“It was an adventure, we took a massive risk, and it didn’t pay off. We’re going to be great. Not many people can say that they just dropped it all and fucked off to Mexico, but we did, and we tried, just with the wrong partner, and that’s fine. I wish that partner all the success, and I hope they learn from this experience – as much as we’ve learned. I don’t wish ill on anyone.”
Now back in London, their attention has turned to rebuilding. Maura will be announcing her next move when she’s ready, while Alex is digging deep into the Lyan business.
“Ryan [Chetiyawardana] was so kind,” he says. “He told me: ‘If you need to go and do this thing – AKA go to Mexico – go do this thing. You can have your cake and eat it.’ That demonstrates the amount of support from my best mate and my business partner. I’m so appreciative.
“I feel very fortunate. I’ve come back, and I’m not just slotting back into the folds like I used to, but it does feel nice to be back in my routine. Maura said the other day: ‘It feels like it’s been on a very long, very bad holiday.’”
One thing Alex has taken from the experience is a renewed appreciation for community – something they also found in Mexico, despite the challenges.
“The warmth we felt from Mexico – the people, our team, the people we trained, especially – it was very emotional leaving,” Alex explains. “There were a lot of tears. There was so much love, so much thankfulness.
“There aren’t many negatives to be said about how we left. We just weren’t in control of anything, really.”
And Maura and Alex are now quickly slotting back into their old community. “Overall, everything feels positive right now,” he says. “We just have to rebuild. We’re very fortunate that we have a community to come back to that has embraced us with open arms. I put up a moany Instagram post, and I was so taken aback by the response. People seem genuinely glad we’re back. There were so many words of encouragement.
“We’re very excited to be back, and we’re very excited that people care. I think that’s a feeling we were both numb to for quite some time.”
The Spirits Business has reached out to Outline, Copal, the Foodie Groovy Group and Walter Meyenberg for comment but has had no response.
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