Nirvana Soul is happening!
We are so excited to announce that we have closed escrow on our shop in Downtown San Jose! Nirvana Soul will be moving into the historical Sainte Claire building where legendary Caffe Frascati existed for the previous 10+ years.
For the last few months, we have been working with Caffe Frascati, our lender, the title company, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to secure funding for this deal. Through a series of ups and downs, we have finally made Nirvana Soul a reality beyond our wildest dreams.
If you recall, Jeronica and I put in an offer on an existing cafe back in May 2019. We were unable to reach an agreement at that time and continued to pursue other locations for the next six months. We looked seriously at The Pierce in the southern part of downtown, Sparq right across the street, Modera in San Pedro Square, and NEO on First on Monterey Road. We were prepared to do a full build to create the experience we were certain this city and our customers deserved. All the while, we kept an eye on that first cafe.
Well, we couldn’t share it then, but let us tell you now how the universe works. That cafe we tried to purchase a year ago was Caffe Frascati. It was the very first shop we looked at just a short while after our Pitch Party. Roger Springall, Caffe Frascati’s owner, was incredibly kind and patient with us from the start and we’re so grateful things have worked out the way they have.
Caffe Frascati has been a San Jose staple. In so many ways, it reflects the values and culture we plan to continue at Nirvana Soul. It’s been a place for artists and coffee lovers alike. When we first envisioned Nirvana Soul, we knew music, poetry, and art would be a large part of the experience. We set out to create a modern Love Jones vibe for a city far removed from the ’90s Chicago romance that captured our hearts long ago.
Nirvana Soul is committed to that mission. We’re creating something beautiful and experiential right here in our hometown of San Jose. We believe in this city. We know what it could be. But just as everything else has been along this journey, the success of this business is going to be a challenge.
The most obvious thing about owning a business is you have to make money and pay your bills. We’re indebted to our lender, a little bit of family, and we also have to pay our rent – both for the space and for our own place to live. We will also be taking on some cosmetic renovations expenses to turn Caffe Frascati into Nirvana Soul. That’s one.
The elephant in the room, of course, is COVID-19. Never could we have imagined we’d be opening a brick-and-mortar business during a pandemic. Seriously?! Not a single business plans for anything even close to this. It’s unheard of. But here we are, fortunate to be essential, but still cautious about safety and next steps. That’s two.
Now three, we have never done this before. Never. Every step we take is into uncharted territory. We’re optimistic, which helps, but we’re also naive. (That might also help.) We had no idea what to expect under normal circumstances, and now we’ll be bringing more people into the fold when we hire baristas and staff in a vastly different world.
With that being said, our motto from the beginning hasn’t changed: “We can do hard things.” I can’t tell you how many times we’ve said this in the past year alone. It’s an acknowledgement and inspiration all in one. And here we are again, telling you once more that WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!
So this is the plan: We’ll do everything we can to create a clean and comfortable environment for you. This means we’ll identify every opportunity for our staff to protect themselves and others, while also building in opportunities for customers to do the same. By following the lead of other coffee shops who have bravely maintained business continuity through both their resilience and creativity, we can assure you that Nirvana Soul will be just as safe.
The rest remains the same. We have always planned to offer you the best coffee, recipes, and customer experience. That won’t change. We’re driven by our core values of kindness, inspiration, accountability, customer-centricity, and trust-worthiness. There are no circumstances that can deter us from the mission we set out on.
We have no idea what the future holds, but we have big dreams. Nirvana Soul in Downtown San Jose was a vision board idea just a little over a year ago and now it’s actually happening. We could’ve done this anywhere, but we chose to do it here and we’re going to give you everything we have. The best we can do right now is ask for your support through this time and beyond.
As these are unprecedented times – something we pray won’t occur ever again – our priority is the health and safety of everyone in our direct reach and in the larger global community. This next normal will be an adjustment, but what will always be in favor is connecting with friends and family.
We’re counting on the power of coffee and tea to bring people together. We invite you to join us at Nirvana Soul.
In the meantime, please stay safe and stay home. And please support small businesses as much as you’re able. Order coffee online, pick up coffee curbside, or deliver directly to you.
Thank you for being on this journey with us. We’re so grateful. Stay tuned for more info regarding the grand opening coming soon. This is happening, y’all! 💕