Community Highlights: Meet Marlene and Alexandria Heese of The Kochi Cafe’

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlene and Alexandria Heese. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Kochi started as a tea brand in 2013, while living in Bangkok, Thailand. We worked with Tea Estate owners in Northern Thailand to develop 12 tea blends for Dean & DeLuca. Unfortunately, we had to close the office in Bangkok when we left, but several years after returning to Colorado, we purchased a local tea shop in 2017 and remodeled and renamed it “Kochi Café”. Alexandria first worked as a barista at the café while finishing her BA in Psychology. Once she graduated, Alexandria trained and became the Manager and part-owner of the café. Marlene & Alexandria, the mother-daughter duo, work together to train and create processes that allow Kochi to give excellent customer service and high-quality drinks & pastries. We have launched Kochi tea on Amazon in 2021. Currently, we are partnering with a coffee farmer in El Salvador and together we will be giving proceeds from the coffee to a school that will help educate 224 children near the coffee farm in San Miguel Region. We are excited to help reach the community in both Denver, Colorado, and now El Salvador. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Marlene: It has been a long and sometimes bumpy road. It has cost a lot more money, time, and patience to learn the tea business, the coffee business, and the restaurant business than I expected. We both needed to learn an entire new business and industry. When the pandemic hit, we took the opportunity to remodel the Kochi Cafe. However, we were blessed to be able to stay open all the way through COVID – even when for a time the City of Denver only allowed us to provide take-out service. It has been a lot of hard work and to be honest, we didn’t know how it would turn out. We were devoted to giving great customer service and “building a community”. My husband, Jim was my biggest cheerleader, support, and mentor. He gave me encouragement and vision and much support along the way. I could not have done it if it was not for him. Owning and building a business was much harder than I thought. It certainly took the team of all of us to make it happen. It took a lot more persistence and grit than I had originally planned. 

Alexandria: From my perspective, it wasn’t easy to start a tea company or learn how to run a shop just before COVID hit. In 2013 I was in high school and not nearly as involved with Kochi like I am now. But I did help choose the packaging and name of the company. In 2018 when we purchased the cafe and I started working there; it was a different animal entirely than anything my family had taken on before. Owning a coffee shop and not having any experience in food & beverage business was quite challenging. Just as we started understanding it, COVID hit. I feel like I am just finally able to wrap my arms around Kochi Cafe’ now, but it took time and experience. The challenges ranged from learning how to be a barista, multi-tasking in a restaurant setting, managing an existing cafe’, and figuring out how to make the changes you want but not too abruptly to be able to help train and educate the staff and customers. It has been a learning experience. I am currently in classes now to learn even more about this industry. 

We’ve been impressed with The Kochi Cafe’, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Kochi Cafe’ located at 4100 E. 8th Ave. Denver, CO 80220. We are a local tea & coffee shop that serves French and local baked pastries for breakfast, lunch & dinner. We have over 30 loose leaf teas from around the world and single-origin coffee from Brazil, Ethiopia, and EL Salvador. We specialize in building a “Community Living Room” for the neighborhood and being a place of peace and tranquility. 

Marlene: I am most proud of our staff, my daughter, Alexandria, and the response from customers. My daughter, Alexandria, has been an integral part of making Kochi Café’ work. We are a great team and work well together. I also love the community of our neighborhood and love seeing and being a part of their lives. 

Alexandria: I love the community we have integrated into and built. I also love a deeper relationship with my mom because we are now business partners. Being a barista is a fun hobby for me, going into management has helped me better understand what I want to major in when I go graduate school in the future. 

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Marlene: 

My biggest mentor, supporter & cheerleader has been my husband, Jim, and my children, Alexandria & Christina. Jim is an amazing man that inspires me to do and be better. Alexandria is my daughter and business partner. I love working with her and we have lots of candid conversations that help me to grow. Christina loves business and is always thinking of ways to help the world be a better place. 

Alexandria:

I would say my family are my biggest supporters. Each of my parents, sister, and partner help me so much. They all are always honest, supportive, and offering various of acts of service to help take things off my plate. But most of all I love that they all remind me to grow and pursue whatever I desire, even if it’s outside of Kochi. 

Contact Info:

• Email: thekochicafe@gmail.com
• Website: www.kochicafe.com
• Instagram: kochi.cafe
• Facebook: Kochi Cafe
• Yelp: The Kochi Cafe

Image Credits:
Volodymyr Petruniv Photography