We recently connected with Jules Karagiannis and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jules, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I have a colorful tattoo of a mug with steam and below it reads espresso yourself. Someone told me once to only get tattoos that are meaningful to me, thus the image of the coffee and I relate to empaths and creatives so espresso yourself is a fun play on words.
I truly believe that having a safe place to express yourself is so very important especially in todays world. Espresso Yourself Coffee & Cafe was created to be that space for our beloved Southampton Neighborhood.
Jules, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Jules Karagiannis. I have been married for 36 years to the most wonderful man, Dino, and we have 2 grown daughters, Mary & Eleni and one grandson, Wally who is the apple of our eye.
Our business began as a simple back and forth, kind of “what if”, conversation between my sister and I. We began with knowing that we wanted to be located in neighborhood where walking dogs and the kiddo in stollers was the norm. We landed on the thriving Southampton area and never looked back. Espresso Yourself Coffee & Cafe was born.
We provide our guests with a delicious selection coffee creations made with locally roasted beans and mouthwatering house made breakfast items. What completes the experience is our welcoming, cozy atmosphere. We have an eclectic collection of vintage decor, tables and chairs and there is always something new to discover.
We feel that our dedication to our community is what sets us apart. We have a rotating Art Wall that features a different local artist or organization each month. We have live music on weekend with local musicians. We donate to our time and talent to neighboring schools and other businesses.
What we are most proud of right now is that we not only survived the pandemic but we were able to open a sister business located right next door to the coffee shop, Sisters Sandwich Shoppe.
How’d you meet your business partner?
How I met my cofounder/business partner is the easiest question to answer, she is my sister. We are best of friends and truly ying & yang. Tracy is the logical one and I am the creative. She handles everything that truly makes our business run at its optimal performance. I handle the social media and event coordination. Together we handle the day to day operations. It is the perfect combination.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
How we funded our business. Two words. Self Funded. In a nutshell we pretty much liquidated our savings to fund our dream and have had no regrets.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
@joan_fisher @tsgsaintlouis @amyjostyles @thevaultluxuryresale