001 | 100 Adam
100 Strangers Project
A few months back, I posted to Instagram one of those give-a-book-get-a-book chains, and Adam was the first to respond. Although we followed each other on Instagram, we’d never actually met before.
We have the same last name so we joked about possibly being related, and quickly found a few other parallels between the two of us.
Same last name.
Both photographers.
Both into specialty coffee.
Both first-gen immigrants.
Both with family in the same region of Mexico.
And I have to mention that BOTH of us got bamboozled in the IG book exchange.
As Adam tells it, Little Jupiter Cafe is the realization of a lifelong passion. A harvesting of seeds that were planted over a decade ago. His story reminds me to be grateful for all the people that go before us; leaving seeds along their path and doing the best they can to nurture them into something great.
Adam 001 | 100
Q&A
Rick: Tell me about your go-to coffee drink at the moment.
Adam: Sparkling Americano. I've always been a cap or cortado drinker. Too much milk bugs my stomach. I've tried the alt-milks, but you just taste the milk. With the americano, I can taste the espresso, while the sparking water cuts it and acts as a palate cleanser.
Rick: What's the story behind naming your cafe Little Jupiter?
Adam: I have two versions of this reasoning behind the name. Short version. I'm a space nerd and It's an oxymoron on Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The size of Jupiter doesn't represent the size of our space, but the size of our aspirations for the space. I grew up a foodie. My dad was a chef at several restaurants, at times multiple at once. That's just the immigrant work ethic for ya I guess. My dad was stoic and very strict. He rarely said I love you. But he showed it with the meals he would cook for us. Food since then became my love language as well. Making food and Coffee has always been my therapy, I've always been a coffee and food nerd. So, I assumed I'd love to be an engineer. I loved school, not the job. My dream of owning a restaurant and a cafe seemed stupid. I couldn't afford a huge restaurant. One day, my wife and I decided to try a tasting menu at a new restaurant. The restaurant was literally the size of a 1 bedroom apartment. The food blew my mind. That night sparked the idea of Little Jupiter. The size of a cafe or restaurant doesn't dictate how good the coffee or food is. It's the love that is put into it.
Rick: A cafe bistro is a big switch from what you were doing before.
Adam: I loved school and engineering was a good gig. But it wasn't the dream. Once I had kids, I told myself I'll just suck it up and pay for my kids to go to any college they want or chase any dream. Then one night I read Mike Massimino's book SPACEMAN. The book is about him chasing his dream of being an astronaut. He then has kids and has a similar mindset. then he realizes and I quote " How could I ever tell my kids to chase their dreams if I never did". that hit me deep. I realized I could always get this job back, and they'd replace me the next day if I died anyways.
Rick: What’s been the scariest or most difficult thing you’ve had to overcome during this process?
Adam: The money I guess, but that comes and goes. It's the thought of failure. Growing up, failing wasn't okay and the fear of it was engraved deeply in me. Going to engineering school, learning to brew coffee and create dishes I know it is necessary to fail. The path to greatness is littered with mistakes and fuck ups. It still keeps me up at night.
Rick: What do you wish people knew about you or your shop?
Adam: That food and coffee are my love language. I don't wish to make a lot of money with the cafe, only to be able to pay my employees well. I put a lot of thought and love into everything we serve. I want to serve people the best coffee and food I can.
Rick: Here’s a time machine, but it’s stuck in reverse. So you can only go back in time, and once you set the date, that’s it! That’s the only day you can visit. You can go back and forth to that date as many times as you want.
What day do you set and why?
Adam: Gezz that's a hard one. Perhaps, to a time when I was a teen. Knowing what I know now, I'd love to just be able to cook a meal for my dad. I grew up with a very privileged life because of the hard work and sacrifices my dad made. He gave me the love of food. My father passed away when I was 15 and I never really got to cook for him the way he cooked for my family and me.
Rick: Anything else I should ask you?
Adam: What's my favorite quote? lol
“Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one”
- ConfuciusThank you Adam for kicking off this project in such an epic way.
Don’t forget to stop by Little Jupiter Cafe and try the Cubano Latte, Sparkling Americano, and Watermelon Matcha.
r / m
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