Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
Sarah Leduff, a teacher and master’s degree student, remembers the long lines when the coffee shop Nirvana Soul opened in September 2020. She heard about it on Instagram and had a feeling the cafe would be a big hit.
It also gave her a safe spot to work on her master’s project. When Nirvana soul came into her life she was able to have an environment to give her exactly what she needed.
“It really gave me a place where I was really comfortable to go and sit down to work,” Leduff said. ”It gave me a space of comfort while I was working on something that was so challenging.”
That customer experience was the goal of founders and sisters Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu.
Ashaolu said Nirvana Soul had lived in their imagination for 11 years before it finally came to life. “I always wanted to open up a coffee shop and was looking for something that would help bring people together and make people feel good,” Ashaolu said. “And nirvana is a word that’s based off of that, meaning one closest to God. We wanted people to feel good when they came in, and right away it felt right. And we stuck to the name.”
Just months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters announced the cafe’s opening with a post on Instagram (@nirvanasoulcoffee), and the downtown community started preparing for the grand opening. The community flooded the comment section of their post with encouragement and tagged their friends to spread the word.
It has been a popular place since it opened.
A bright colored sign with the wording “Nirvana Soul” welcomes the customers into the ultimate hangout spot at 315 S. First St., in San Jose
The vibrant pink ceiling creates an iconic staple for visitors, and the walls are lined with photography and artwork by artists of color. Their drink menu is filled with an abundance of choices, ranging from a classic latte to “The Golden Child,” which consists of chai, espresso, turmeric mix and milk. The food menu includes multiple kinds of savory or sweet waffles, fresh pastries and sweet potato pie.
Nirvana Soul’s social media use had made an impact, drawing 16,000 Instagram followers and creating connections for the downtown community. Its website, nirvanasoulcoffee.com, tells the story of the cafe and has an attitude of its own with its mission “Using the power of coffee and tea to bring people together.” The Nirvana Soul party is getting bigger with the addition of a location in Cupertino.
On Instagram, Nirvana Soul also promotes artists whose work is on the walls. Artist Ricardo Gonzalez Kurszewski, who goes by @chavoctavo on Instagram, painted a mural for the Cupertino location titled “SisTres,” which is his third collaboration with them.
A recent post promotes “Further Than the Lens,” an LGBTQ photo exhibit that is up in the San Jose cafe for two weeks in June as part of Pride Month in collaboration with @sj.shooters on Instagram.
It was Nirvana Soul’s social media that helped draw in Lanier Green, who said she had an excellent experience on her first visit to Nirvana Soul on June 16. She also was encouraged by supporting a Black-owned business and said she thinks Nirvana Soul has opened more doors for other Black-owned businesses.
“I think having a minority owned business in downtown San Jose is a very good thing and is a cultural experience for all people to have,” she said.
Mia Felix-Ennis is a rising senior at Downtown College Prep High School in San Jose.
Source: www.mercurynews.com