Today we’d like to introduce you to Leticia Fernandes.
Hi Leticia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Brazil, graduated in Business with an MBA in finance, and worked for 12 years in a Fortune500 company. Coffee was always part of my life, as it is to most Brazilians.
But during my college years, it became essential to me when I started hanging out at coffee shops with my friends, discussing life, and drinking good coffee. A tradition we kept throughout my life and helped me develop a passion for the coffee itself, more than just as a gathering spot.
Whenever I traveled, both within Brazil and also around the world, I would seek the best experiences and brews possible. Eventually, I got tired of the corporate world and decided to pursue de art of coffee in depth. I took barista classes, worked in the area, read a lot about coffee techniques and theory, and drank even more coffee!
It helped me develop my critical analysis and taste for craft coffee drinks. The next step seemed natural to me: open a coffee shop in the US, adding my love of coffee to my business background to the pursuit of a better quality of life. The idea was (and still is) to bring the community and friendliness of Brazilian coffee shops, adding the theory and consistency of Italian espresso drinks to the specialty guidelines and beans found in the US, all in one space.
We (my husband and I) did extensive research in the country, with a yearlong cross-country road trip that was mainly focused on coffee. After visiting hundreds of cities and coffee shops we decided to set roots in Knoxville, TN. We fell in love with the city, both personally as well as for business reasons, therefore, we created Capybara Coffee in 2017 and opened the storefront in 2018.
We survived the impact Covid-19 had on small businesses and we have wonderful plans for the future!
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?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.
Starting with the very difficult decision of completely changing my life, leaving a safe job in the country where I grew up as well as my family and friends, and moving to a new country and city, where I did not know anyone. The whole process of opening the business and operating it already has its bureaucratic obstacles and difficulties, but we had some extra challenges added to them.
Within the first year of operations, the main anchor in the mall in which we are located closed, right when we were getting traction and growing. While recovering from that, Covid-19 hit us. Capybara Coffee is located near the University of Tennessee and was hit really hard by the lockdown due to the absence of students and staff after classes were moved online for almost two years.
Adding the fact that we are not originally from the US, the financial support granted by the US Government was not available for us and it made everything even more challenging. We survived through hard work, every single day, along with the help of our amazing customers and the community we are building here.
I have made friends and we have several regulars that checked in on us and tried their best to continue to support us throughout the pandemic. I am extremely grateful for all of them and for the city we chose, it was the right choice.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Capybara Coffee?
I am the owner Capybara Coffee, a Specialty coffee shop in Knoxville, TN. We are committed to consistently crafting and serving the best possible coffee and tea beverages and we are always willing to share our knowledge and coffee experiences.
What makes our coffee shop unique is both the consistent quality of our drinks and the fact that we value education. We are continuously researching and learning and we love to talk to our customers about coffee at every opportunity. We do it all in a welcoming and friendly way, trying to live up to our name since Capybaras are a very social South American rodent.
Our goal is to bring more of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee scene to the spotlight. We’ve partnered with two roasters who have special care and great relationships with Brazilian farmers: Panther (from Florida) and Casa Brasil (from Texas). Over the centuries, coffee has become part of Brazilians’ identity. Our everyday life, no matter the region, revolves around coffee.
From the morning “cafe com leite” (drip coffee and milk) to the afternoon “cafezinho” (strong brewed plain black coffee) and after lunch espresso, our day starts and sometimes ends in coffee. Friends gatherings, business meetings, and family reunions always have coffee.
These are the reasons why we are so proud to serve Brazilian Specialty Coffee and share our passion and experiences involving the coffee culture from all over the world!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Resiliency has been the most important quality for my success during my journey.
The ability to overcome all the bumps, roadblocks, and curveballs the small business career has thrown at me while not allowing it to take me down but instead learn from it, get back up and keep going.
I always try to find the positive side of every situation, the lesson to be learned, which helps me when the obstacles seem too big to overcome.
Contact Info:
- Email: capybaracoffee@gmail.com
- Website: www.capybaracoffee.com
- Instagram: @capybaracoffee
