When we decided to open favela we didn't want to be just another coffee shop. No offense to the "just coffee shop" business style - we wanted more. We believed every business should put people before profit.
So many entrepreneurs and business owners, like Hafiz from the Magic Cafe in Oxford UK and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, decided to follow the path of community, where the people they served were the structure of the company.
And here we were, creating something on our own, learning from successful people and adding our love and care for our community. Favela first opened its doors with the support of family and friends - who are also family; Favela Family.
Jota and Rodrigo finding reclaimed chairs for the cafe; Dunya's parents painting the menu wall and making the recycled benches; Barbara and her husband Rodrigo, painting the wall in the corridor; Alexandra, Anderson, Natasha, Dudu and Mimim choosing the best pão de queijo; Natasha serving at the cafe when we couldn't; Rodrigo's mom coming from Brazil and fulfilling her dream of serving juices at the cafe; Rodrigo's sister Patricia coming from Italy and helping in every possible way to keep the cafe open; the construction guys doing their magic inside the cafe, the plumbers, electricians like Juan; Nossa Familia being a super partner with the delicious coffee beans from Brazil; Lucas, Anderson, Dudu and more people adding the metal roofing inside the cafe; Zak installing the sign in the front; our amazing land-lords Matt & Kate supporting us from the beginning through out the pandemic season; the people at the city of Portland helping us with the long awaited permits, especially the amazing Dory Robinson; the amazing folks at Prosper Portland that helped us get started; Fernanda cooking her amazing pies; Ligia providing us her incredible cakes; Carlinha for making her delicious baked goods; Fabiano & Eliana helping us with the crazy permit process, floor plans and uncountable late nights at their house trying to figure out the designs of the cafe while their baby was trying to sleep; our accountant and friend Nick, helping the accounting and finances make sense; Fire Cat, José and all the artists who painted beautiful murals around Favela; the people who are still helping us every single day, like Marcio, Bruna, Martin, Jay, Carrie, Ashley; and all the clients who came to the cafe from the first day of opening, waiting in line for one hour to experience Favela for the first time, until today as we write this post, in January of 2022.
As the year is just starting we fell blessed and grateful for each person who we ever got in touch in this process.
Obrigado, Thank you, Grazie, Gracias, Merci, Danke, Mam'noon, Dhanyavaad, Xièxiè, Arigato, Ahéhee’, Khàawp-khun, and any other way to say we appreciate you.
May 2022 bring us joy to keep us smiling, energy to keep us moving, intention to keep us going in the right direction, and love to keep us all connected!
