After more than a decade running a popular coffee shop franchise, Maria Chan and Jack Tse decided the time had come to go the independent route. The reason? To better be able to respond to their customers. “With our experience, we started to know what customers want, what they are looking for. But with a franchise, there’s a lot of limitations and we felt that it was time to go. So that’s how we started,” explains Maria.
With their customers’ wish list in mind, the husband and wife team opened up Rachel’s Coffee House, named after their daughter. They sought out organic, fair trade coffee from a local roastery and Tea Forté gourmet teas. Also on the drink menu are specialties like their almond latte and blended beverages including strawberry mango smoothies, and vanilla crème drinks. From the get go, they’ve made sure to offer almond milk as a lactose-free alternative, and have prioritized fresh, locally sourced products.