Family business takes on successful market expansion and shows no sign of slowing down.
7 Leaves Cafe, owned by the four Nguyen brothers Sonny, Quang, Ha, Vinh and other family members Mai Ly, Denny Ly, Triet Ho, and Viet Do first started in 2012 in Little Saigon. Inspired by their travel experiences and the recipes they collected, the 7 Leaves Cafe concept was created to provide a taste of Asian beverages to their community; a coffee and tea house that believes the key to a healthy and happy life is living in harmony with nature and humanity. Their mission is to provide products and services that nurture, inspire, and enrich the human experience through their coffee, teas, and desserts. So much so, they have Ghandi’s famous quotation, “Be the change you want to see in the world” hanging on the wall as a constant reminder of how they create their products and the way they serve their customers.
“Be the change you want to see in the world” hangs on the wall as a constant reminder of how they create their products and the way they serve their customers.
7 Leaves Café first opened its Little Saigon location in January 2012. Since then, with the help of SBA financing they have expanded to nine locations in the Orange County region with over 350 employees. Believing that education is fundamental to a robust and healthy nation, they actively work with surrounding neighborhood schools to build relationships essential to promoting communal integration and service. 7Leaves has also joined efforts with non-profit organizations in giving back to the poor throughout the world, honoring the very principles in which their core values and ideals stem from.
Each brother and family member has contributed their unique talents to the business. The 7 Leaves concept was created by Quang Nguyen who is also the creative director of the company, leading the R&D and Creative Design team which includes long time friends Viet Do and Triet Ho. His responsibilities include branding, ambiance, the creation of new drinks and overseeing the company vision. Sonny Nguyen has experience in finance, real estate and lending. He paves the way for new business partnerships, expansion of the company, forms relationships with vendors, and plans out logistics for the company. Ha Nguyen supervises the operations of the company which involves hiring and training employees, ensuring sufficient inventory for operations, and maintains quality assurance of products and the customer experience. Having earned his Juris Doctorate, he also oversees legal documentation and corporate developments. Vinh Nguyen spearheads the store development by managing the planning and build out of each new store to ensure no details are overlooked during this process. As a former IT Director of a hospital, he also oversees anything technology related. Mai Ly oversees the finances which includes payroll, taxes, and benefits while Denny Ly oversees the human resource aspect of the business.
With six new drive-thru stores in development, 7 Leaves will expand to 15 stores in 2017 in different cities. The success of 7 Leaves Café has opened the door to collaborations with the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and has expanded the Nguyen brother’s roles as leaders and mentors to the next generation of entrepreneurs.