Downtown San Jose’s beloved Nirvana Soul is planning to open a new cafe at San Jose State’s Martin Luther King Jr. Library this summer.
The black-owned coffee shop was founded by Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu in 2019.
Since then, they’ve expanded their franchise with a shop in Cupertino in 2022.
Ashaolu said they have been fortunate to have a close relationship with San Jose State through events, students and faculty both on campus and in their shops.
“After being approached by representatives from SJSU and the MLK Library about taking over the vacant space sometime around last September, we walked through, felt really good about it and decided to move forward with the partnership,” Ashaolu said.
The coffee shop has tried to help out its community by promoting local vendors during its Nirvana Soul After Dark events, where every week it hosts all kinds of performances from comedy to live music.
The cafe also held several fundraisers with SJSU student organizations and allowed students to promote their work at its store, such as the Reed Magazine which publishes creative writing pieces.
Nirvana Soul has promoted local independent artists with artwork decorating its stores, playing loud music that bounces off the walls and holding open mic nights every week.
“The culture and community that comes with Nirvana Soul is the culture and community of San Jose, “ Ashalou said. “We’re so fortunate to be a reflection and representation of the diversity and creativity in this city. We plan to continue uplifting artists, dreamers, and doers of all ages and backgrounds, just as we do in our other locations.”
Marketing junior Mayra Aguilar said she believes Nirvana Soul will help improve students’ studying environment in the library.
“I think it will definitely promote productivity within the library because they don’t have to go out of their way for some coffee or an energizer,” Aguilar said. “It’ll definitely motivate more students to go to the library and find a new study place. I hope it will improve the studying experience simply for its convenience and many places don’t have all the resources such as the library.”
When the new store opens in the MLK Library, Nirvana Soul will have three locations.
Macey and Ashaolu said they hope to bring SJSU students the same commitment they have with their independent stores to the on-campus cafe.
“With every location we open, we’re on the same mission: to bring people together through the power of coffee and tea,” Ashaolu said. “Being on SJSU’s campus is particularly special to us because we all have a great opportunity to reach more students and library visitors together with quality coffee and joyful experiences in a super convenient way.”
Music performance junior John Carter, who has been working at Nirvana Soul for almost a year, said he’s excited to see a Nirvana Soul cafe open in the MLK Library.
“I hope that even though it’s a different store that is led by San Jose State, the vibes will still be there even though it’s a smaller cafe,” Carter said. “I hope the aesthetic and drinks are the same, they can really form a great community at the school. With the cafe, students can relax and enjoy their studying more.”
He said the cafe on campus may motivate students to look at the other
Nirvana Soul locations.
Carter said students may want to venture out to where the first location opened in Downtown San Jose once they try the new location’s drinks.
“The atmosphere may be different, it’s essentially the workers that make the environment at each store,’ Carter said. “So it really depends on who works there and what energy they bring.”
