Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maya Mukhopadhaya. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Maya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was February 2022. I had been an independent consultant for a year in a half in the tech and consumer products space, helping clients like the New York Times, Square, and Nike develop new digital/software products to launch. Coming out of a corporate job that underpaid me relative to my peers and relative to my performance (my reviews were always stellar), as an independent consultant, I wanted to prove to myself that I could make more money on my own than I did in the confines of a corporate job. In February 2022, I did the math and found I had far exceeded my earnings goal for myself. With the realization that I had met my financial goal, my motivation to keep being an independent consultant in the tech space vanished.
Almost as soon as the steam to keep doing that job left me, a new dream entered my mind — open a coffee shop by day, wine bar by night, in my neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, Boston. It came from a selfish place in a way. I love JP, but have always felt like I have to leave it to go to Cambridge or Somerville if I want a nice coffee shop or wine bar experience. So I thought – why not here? Why not me?
However, my immediate next thoughts were of self doubt… I didn’t have any experience in the food and beverage industry — so why did I have the audacity to think I could do this? I spent weeks trying to talk myself out of this notion, but I couldn’t shake it. So ultimately I decided to prototype it. In my consulting life, this is advice I would give clients constantly. Before spending lots of time and lots of money developing a product that you aren’t sure there is a market for, and that you aren’t even sure you have the in house capabilities to do, just flesh out the concept a little more, and think about what it would take to actually do it.
So I followed my own advice. I thought to myself — “Ok, well if I had a coffee shop/wine bar, what would the menu be?” I put together a menu, and found it actually had more of a point of view to it than I thought it would. I shared that menu with friends and family and even people I didn’t know well, and got positive feedback on it from them. I also asked myself “If I had a coffeeshop/wine bar, what would it look like?” Before I knew it, I had a moodboard of how the space would be designed. Then I asked myself “What would this place be called?” And the name “Jadu” immediately popped into my head. It means “magic” in Hindi. I don’t know why my brain went to that word. But I couldn’t un-think it. So I decided to keep it. I think it signifies how I want people to feel in the space – I want them to experience a spark of magic from the food, beverage, vibes and community coming together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
I also asked myself, “What would the startup costs of this be?” And before I knew it, I had pretty robust financial projections. I had “prototyped” my way into a full fledged business plan!
On the way, I also talked with dozens of small business owners, restaurant owners and cafe owners, who were so generous with their wisdom and with sharing their own experiences. One piece of advice I got over and over again was “don’t fall in love with the idea of running a food business without ever having worked in a food business!” So I got a job as a barista. Then as a server at a tapas restaurant I love. Both those experiences taught me so much about how to do those jobs, but also how to manage people (based on what I did and did not like about how I was managed), how to order inventory, how to schedule staff for peaks and valleys in the business etc.
Another great piece of advice I got was “You seem like you have a lot of momentum right now, and no where to put it because you’re still in the theoretical stage. You don’t have to sign a lease, but do something tangible towards making your concept real.” Perhaps it sounds obvious now, but hearing it at the time was so impactful for me. A friend and I had been talking about potentially going into this as business partners. Based on this advice, we decided to organize a wine-focused pop up events to build our own confidence and skillset, while also getting our name and concept out.
In February 2023 (so a year after the initial flash of the idea) we held our first “pop up party” which was at my friend and business partner’s apartment. It was our soft launch. The invite list was friends of ours. We did all the cooking. We poured 4 different wines. With each pour we explained a little about the wine, how it was made, and something interesting about it. The party was a hit, and gave us the confidence to plan the next one.
By the end of 2023, we had done 8 pop up events in total – 2 multi-course meals with wine pairings at partner restaurants, 5 full-fledged wine parties, and 2 smaller wine tasting events. We also had a little write up in Eater Boston, and had built a little following around Jadu.
And then, the place that I had been eyeing as the perfect spot for Jadu to call home became available! The owners of the coffee shop that was located there were looking to sell. I went in to pitch them on doing a pop up in the space, and instead they offered to sell me their business! A year ago I would not have been ready, but 8 pop ups and 2 restaurant gigs in, I was ready to take the leap. So after we worked out the particulars, I took over their business in February of 2024.
I ran their business unchanged from February till the end of June 2024. And now, we are closed for renovations and finally building out a space to turn into Jadu! We are three weeks into the buildout process and every day brings new challenges and incredible learning experiences. I am learning how to oversee a big renovation. I am developing points of view on flooring, and lighting, and backsplashes. I am learning how to design spaces, navigate the permitting process, be a social media content creator, and so much more. It is expansive. And exhausting. And exhilarating. And I love it. Even if I could use a nap sometimes.
We are hoping to launch Jadu brick and mortar in October, first as a coffee shop, then, when we get a liquor license (timing TBD), as a wine bar!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
The vision for Jadu is to be a coffee shop by day, wine bar by night, neighborhood spot for the community to gather – always. We don’t have an elaborate “concept”. We just want to serve really good food and really good drinks in a well designed space, that plays really good music. We want to focus on nailing the fundamentals of what in our opinion, makes a third space truly conducive to connection and conversation.
We want to be the place where you work from “home”, where you bring a first date, catch up with a friend, do date night with your loved one, bring your parents/kids, doodle, read and everything in between.
We also want to foster a place where the norm is to treat each other with kindness and respect, to assume good intention, and to give each other the benefit of the doubt.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I am actively trying to unlearn the trait of people pleasing. I have spent my entire life till now being way too worried about how others perceive me. I come into conversations and interactions with the baseline assumption that I am an imposition and an inconvenience to others. And I am loathe to be perceived as a bother in any way.
I think the time and place and contexts I grew up in contributed to me picking up on the vibe that as a woman (and particularly as a woman of color) I have to be constantly apologetic for my existence and for taking up space. That lesson does not serve me anymore… perhaps it never did.
As a small business owner, I am finding that I have to be comfortable (or at least push past the discomfort in) taking up space, using my voice, asserting healthy boundaries, and being assertive in stating what I need from people. This can look like (politely but firmly) asking my HVAC repair guy to show up when he said he would to repair a broken AC, or getting comfortable having to sometimes say no to customer food or beverage modification requests that we cannot accommodate for good reasons. It also means learning to accept that I can’t please everyone… That inevitably a customer, an employee, or a service provider might be unhappy with me or a decision I have made.
I have learned very quickly in this role that trying to please everyone is a fool’s errand, and if you chase it, you won’t actually achieve your own goals because you’re too busy trying to accommodate everyone else.
Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.
Back in November 2023, I came across the opportunity to buy a coffee shop. I went in to the shop to ask if they would be interested in hosting us for a pop up. They were not interested in that, but did offer to sell me their business! Turns out, they had a one and a half year old son, and after 7 years running a beloved neighborhood coffee shop (also through COVID), they were feeling ready for their next chapter.
I’m not one to make impulsive decisions, but it felt like the right opportunity. The space had amazing potential. It was well located on the commercial street of a cute neighborhood. And the high level information the business owner shared with me about revenue, profit, and rent all sounded workable. I left that meeting telling him I was definitely interested.
Over the next week, he shared PNL’s, his lease agreement and other pertinent documents that could help me get a sense of the business I would be buying.
My husband and I had been mentally putting some funds aside for this business, so we were in a position to buy, and they were offering the business for a reasonable sum.
Over the next few months, the seller, myself, the landlord, and our respective lawyers worked out the terms of the sale of the business, and the assignment of the lease from the previous owners to us. A lot of paperwork and legal fees later, I was able to take over the business on February 1, 2024.
We were transparent with the staff about the upcoming change of hands, and I met with each of them individually to try to address any concerns, while also sharing my vision for Jadu. I also started working/training at the coffee shop in January, including going on restaurant shopping trips with the owners, and doing payroll with them, so that by the time February 1 rolled around, I had some clue about how to run their business!
On the back end, I was running around the various Permitting and Licensing departments to make sure I had all the paperwork in order (my CV license, Serve Safe Certification, and Business Certificate among other things) in time for February 1.
We were able to change hands from the previous owners to me without interrupting service in the coffee shop for even a day! I ran the business (Espresso Yourself) unchanged from February through the end of June. We are now closed for renovations. When we re-open it will be as Jadu — coffee shop by day, and (liquor license pending) wine bar by night.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jaduboston.com
- Instagram: @jaduboston
Image Credits
James Foo (images of me serving wine behind counter)