Unexpected Success Story of a Coffee Shop Built Outside a House

Sanji Kuroda was in the middle of brewing a cup of coffee for himself, when he thought of opening a coffee shop outside their house. Though he is not a pro-barista, he truly is passionate in making and drinking coffee. Plus, he had always dreamed of opening his own coffee shop. So, he quickly grabbed a small table and his home coffee equipment, offering coffee at the mini-mart their family had also just opened this year.

Life Cycle Coffee
Photo credit: Life Cycle Coffee / Facebook

His first customers? His mother and brother. Despite the meager sales on the first day, Sanji did not lose hope. In fact, he had bigger plans. The following day, he made a DIY coffee stand so they can start selling coffee outside their home along in Davao City.

Life Cycle Coffee
Photo credit: Life Cycle Coffee / Facebook

“Day by day, people stopped by to check if this was really a coffee stand and not just a family cookout 😅. And they tried a cup, recommended it to their family, friends, neighbors and onto Facebook and Instagram,” the shop owner recalled.

“In less than a month, we installed a coffee stall to make our area looking like a real coffee business. We also added more DIY tables and chairs to accommodate our newfound regulars and first-timers,” the barista wrote on his post to celebrate their first month of operation.

Life Cycle Coffee
Photo credit: Life Cycle Coffee / Facebook

Now called as the “Life Cycle Coffee”, the tiny coffee shop drew curious vloggers and bloggers and even other people who drove all the way to the hilltop location to try their specialty coffee. They’re not even located in the downtown area, but people made an effort just to go there.

Life Cycle Coffee
Photo credit: Jazz Sayings
Life Cycle Coffee
Photo credit: Jazz Sayings

They serve pour-over, espresso, Japanese style coffee and cookies. Every cup of coffee has Japanese characters written on it, adding appeal to this tiny shop that seems to transport people to Japan (or on Instagram, anyway)…

Life Cycle Coffee
Photo credit: Jazz Sayings

In just a month, the coffee shop is enjoying such phenomenal success, despite just being open from 1PM to 9PM on weekdays and 2PM to 10PM during weekends. It is amazing what he was able to achieve — all because he took the first step.

Through Life Cycle Coffee, Sanji wishes to inspire others to follow their passion despite the challenges of pandemic and inexperience. He is also very thankful for the support of the local blogging community in Davao which helped bring customers to their coffee shop.

Joy Adalia

Leave a Comment