Community driven and focused on the details day to day is a great way to describe Moda Deli nestled in Woodstock, Cape Town. Apart from delicious coffee, they love a good boogie and they have a penchant for cool caps. We chatted to Jesse who is the man behind the brand.
Who are the humans behind Moda? And how did you get into this game?
Technically it's just me now. But in the beginning my wife Sarah helped a lot. We initially planned to open Moda together but we were also planning a family at the same time and shortly before opening we found out Sarah was pregnant. And, well, so ended Sarah's career in the coffee industry.
Truth is, the cafe game came to us. Moda is actually on the ground floor of the office building that my office was/is in. There was a coffee shop in the same location which closed down. I have a good relationship with the landlord and he suggested I open a coffee shop there. Until then I had no experience at all in the hospitality industry. I've never even waited tables before.
All that said about the beginning, the actual humans behind Moda are Ali and Jeremiah. If you've been to Moda you know who I'm talking about. These two exceptional gentlemen hold Moda together.
If you can think back to the first day of Moda Deli, can you describe the emotions of opening your store?
Absolutely. I was excited! I completely believed in the product that we had built and I had already had so much fun doing all of this with my wife. What could go wrong?
How far do you feel you have come since then? How have the business (and your emotions :)) evolved in the 3 years of running it?
We've come a long way for sure. But we also have a long way to go. We started serving coffee out of a semi-automatic espresso machine I bought on auction. The coffee nerds reading this may understand the difficulty of maintaining a consistent espresso shot in a commercial setting with this kind of machine. But we did it. Meticulously. We manually timed every shot to the second. We now have an automatic machine so now we could get away with timing a shot a few times a day to check but old habits die hard and we find ourselves still timing almost every shot.
Working so closely with great people who have unlimited potential but seeing that they have little to no mentorship available has been the most emotionally challenging aspect of Moda for me thus far. I think this has had a profound impact on me and has also shaped Moda in many ways.
Tell us about your neighbourhood and what you love about Woodstock?
Woodstock is a fascinating place. If you want a place that truly has every walk of South African life, Woodstock is it! The diversity is off the charts. To be apart of that is something special. To be a place that everyone feels welcome at is an honour.
What coffee is in the hopper and why did you choose your coffee partner?
We serve Cedar Coffee Roaster's Milky Way Blend. Why did we choose Cedar? Truthfully the main thing initially was their coffee knowledge in front of and behind the bar. Remember I didn’t know the first thing about a coffee shop when I was starting so having guys able and willing to help and share knowledge with me so genuinely and willingly was priceless. It also helps that they are great guys that happen to be roasting some of SA's best coffee but I don't need to tell you that.
What would you love your future customers to know about what they can expect when they visit Moda?
Expect a calm, welcoming space to relax, or work and on some Saturdays dance in. We're a specialty coffee shop. Not just that we use specialty grade beans, but we fiercely uphold our recipe so you get a consistent cup of excellent coffee every single time you visit.
Behind the scenes, know that you're supporting an incubator for young ambitious South Africans that need guidance. We give the team business lessons, open access to computers and a plethora of online courses. Our accounting books are completely open to the Moda team so they can see exactly what goes on in a business daily from cashflow to vat submissions to recipe costings.
