We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Dang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My dream of opening a coffee shop started 3 years ago when my parents had just left Vietnam along with everything they built the past decades for Seatle, where my sister and I begins our life adventures. It was hard for them at first. A couple of 50-years-old with neither knowledge of English nor this new country that came with a complete different culture and weather sacrificed everything for their children. I remember the moment I felt helpless when everything this new chapter of life could give my dad was job rejections. One day, during my quick talk to him before heading out for work, I tried the “phin” coffee that he made, which instantly reminded me of the peaceful time in Vietnam. Oh those rich and lively notes of chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. So, that moment brought us to 2020, when AROOM’s and my journey of retiring my parents began.

In November the same year, we toured this huge and open space with bright natural lighting, high ceiling, and most importantly, the cozy vibe suited for a welcoming coffee shop. After 10 months of negotiating, designing, and receiving bids from builders, we finally signed the lease for the space that is now our dream coffee shop. We had zero prior experience but the passion keeps on driving us to learn, do research, and come out with the delicious coffee recipes that will take you back to Vietnam where beans are harvested straight from the field to the coffee shop counters. To achieve the best roasted beans, we went back to Vietnam multiple times and learned the techniques.

My hope of opening Aroom is not only to share our coffee culture back home but also to creat a space where everyone/us/our community can be connected

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?

AROOM is ran by a 25-years-old dreamer, my chef mom and dad, a professional coffee roaster aka my husband, a talented recipe creator sister and her detailed-oriented boyfriend, and last but not least, her amazing and “go-getter” bestfriend. Aroom is not made from an individual but a family with lots of love. We ran like a machine, and this machine ran smoothly because of many different part. I would describe my part as the heart which pumps the blood and turn the engine on.

This fact about me might really surprise you, but I went to school for nursing, became a nail technician, then started a nail studio. Five years after opening Urban Nail Box, I started Aroom without knowing anything about the coffee industry. I just know that I love my dad coffee recipes, love to spread the Vietnamese coffee spirit to the Seattle community, and the most importantly I love to give back to my parents who sacrificed everything for me.

People might know me as Aroom’s mother, but I was in a completely different background before this beautiful place. AROOM to me is not just a place where we serve coffee. It’s also a space of positivity where we deliver happiness.

Coming from a very different background, working in different environments, and living in different countries to me are the privilege that I am so lucky to have. Those life experiences have taught me so much, and because of them, I adapt to everything so much quicker. My hometown, Vietnam are known as the second largest coffee producer in the world, and as a Vietnamese immigrant, I drink Ca Phe Sua (Vietnamese coffee) growing up. Not knowing much about the Arabica itself, but Robusta bean with condense milk always take a place in my heart. With Aroom, my family and I not only get to share our traditional Vietnamese coffee, but also get to create, elevate, and pour love into everything we made.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I would say : do it with your heart and people will be able to tell. Running two different business and both are completely different industry, I realized that no matter what you do, there are three main factors that would significantly contribute to any business success are excellent customer service, quality consistency, and lastly an amazing team.

Any advice for managing a team?

Having a good team means you literally have it all. When your staffs are happy, your customers are happy. I get very lucky that I have an amazing team both at Aroom and Urban Nail Box. I think the keys to managing a good team are sharing and listening. I listen to my team opinions, and share my thoughts. Life would be much easier when we compromise each other. Knowing what most important to them at work, and letting them know what are yours connect us closer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aroomcoffee.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/aroom_coffee?igshid=MTIyMzRjYmRlZg==