Nirvana Soul has made a prominent name for itself among local residents and visitors in Downtown San Jose. A year after the downtown cafe opened, the coffee shop has further expanded its trendy reputation, opening a new location on April 30 in Cupertino.
About 10 miles from San Jose State, the new Nirvana Soul location is on the first floor of the Nineteen800 luxury apartments on Vallco Pkwy.
The Black family-owned coffee shop is managed by two sisters, Jeronica Macey, Nirvana Soul chief executive officer and Be’Anka Ashaolu, chief marketing officer.
They said they were elated to unveil the anticipated new location and consistently updated customers on the progress through the Nirvana Soul Instagram account.
Macey said Nirvana Soul is one of the first Black-owned businesses in the Cupertino area.
“We’re excited to be a Black-owned business and to be in an area that is what you don’t always see, we deserve to be here too and we’re really excited to see what we could do in this area,” Macey said. “We’re expecting to bring people together through the power of coffee and tea, where people can feel comfortable.”
Macey and Ashaolu founded Nirvana Soul in Downtown San Jose in September 2020.
Since then, their energetic and warm-hearted attitudes are why the coffee shop has quickly grown in popularity and keeps customers coming back to Nirvana Soul, aside from the heavenly tasting coffee and tea.
Archit Mahale, SJSU history sophomore, frequents the downtown location at least 2-3 times a week for the iced banana mocha coffee and the weekly open mic events.
“I think a big part of Nirvana Soul culture in the downtown location is being close to students and having open mic events,” Mahale said. “But I hope that people know Nirvana Soul is a great atmosphere for . . . the community to be at and I think that they can take that energy wherever they go,” Mahale said.
Ashaolu explained that the new business has been going really well since it opened last month. “We’re getting a lot of families, but also students, Downtown San Jose regulars, which is super fun, professionals from Apple and other companies and neighbors of all backgrounds and ages,” Ashaolu said in an Instagram direct message.
Dominic Hughes, a barista at Nirvana Soul, has noticed some differences between the Cupertino and the bustling Downtown San Jose.
“I will say [Cupertino] is definitely more family oriented,” he said.“There’s a lot more family and a lot more couples, compared to downtown with conventions going on, there’s a mixture of everybody… here everything is just more relationship oriented.”
Mahale said he will probably still visit the downtown location more than the Cupertino store because it’s a longer drive from his SJSU dorm.
“I’m happy this location does exist for other students, or other schools and different high schools, so they can also fall in love with Nirvana Soul,” Mahale said. “Wherever there is a youth population, these types of coffee shops will always thrive.”
