Cafe Elijah: Family, Coffee, and Community

Does anyone remember the ube pandesal wave that swept the country at the beginning of the pandemic back in 2020?

While this fad fizzled out after a couple of months, Cafe Elijah’s owners, Gab Jamon and Jhen Castronero-Jamon cite their beginnings from this wave.

“Nag-start talaga kami before sa Ube Pandesal nung unang wave ng pandemic (2020), then nag try mag-bake ng different Aytries like Banana loaf and muffins until we decided na mag offer ng Cold Brew and Whole Coffee Beans from Baguio.” says the married couple turned entrepreneurs.

It has always been Gab and Jhen’s dream to own a coffee shop. Being both unemployed during the pandemic but needing a stable income to care for their baby, Elijah, the couple wanted to try their chances by pursuing their passion for coffee and putting up a small coffee shop.

Aside from coffee, they wanted to try selling small pastries since Jhen also started learning how to bake during the pandemic. With this idea, they started selling brownies from pre-mix packets to pair them well with the coffee.

They started with only a small table in the garage in front of their house to test the waters and to see if they could hopefully gain customers in their area. Then in January 2021, they started Cafe Elijah in their garage with merely a French Press, coffee maker, stirrers, and a small supply of beans.

At first, only relatives and friends were supporting their small shop. There would also be days in which they would have zero sales and no one would buy.

The couple then began posting on Buy and Sell Facebook groups in Batasan Hills until they slowly started making a name for themselves and at last,  sales started picking up.

Then came another challenge, which was their location. Since they were located in a garage, the weather played a big role in their operations. If it was too rainy, they would have to pack up and stop operations, if the weather was too hot, their workstation would be affected as well.

Then one day, the couple decided to move houses because of an ongoing dispute in their area that was disturbing their customers and their operations.

“Sobrang laking challenge samin dahil di namin alam kung san kami lilipat ng bahay at san kami lilipat ng store” says the couple.

Despite this, the couple still called this a “blessing in disguise” since they were able to put up a physical store of Cafe Elijah in Talanay, Batasan Hills which was a far cry from a table in their garage.

When they were slowly gaining more customers, they began adding more items to their menus like iced coffee, pasta, and wedges. They started having acoustic events and pour-over sessions with more space they have.

“Sobrang di namin inakala na yayakapin ng mga tao yung products namin kahit tago yung lugar namin.”

By using pre-made mixes, Jhen eventually perfected how to make brownies and went on to make her brownie recipe. From then on, the OG brownie has become a staple in their menu and one of the best-sellers for which they are known.

Cafe Elijah also made sure to use local coffee that is traceable and ethically sourced.

They admit that going into coffee would be difficult, especially since there are several competitors and big companies in the same market. Although, what makes Cafe Elijah unique is the culture of home they brew together.

“Kami yung Coffee shop na hindi ka maiintimidate dahil our culture is like “Home”, yung tipong pagpunta mo dito, hindi mo mafi-feel na out of place ka dahil we make sure na we connect with our customers thru Coffee. Very hands-on din kaming owners sa lahat ng sides ng business namin, from brewing until sa front-end contact with customers we are really involved.”

Eventually, they are aiming to put up different branches in Metro Manila and then nationwide for their coffee to be more accessible.

Cafe Elijah is a family-owned third-wave coffee shop located at Kagawad Rd. Cor. Session Rd. Talanay Batasan Hills, Quezon City operates Monday to Saturda 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM.

Aside from coffee and pastries, they also offer lessons for those aspiring baristas. They’re only a message away from Facebook and Instagram!