Brewing Big Dreams at Mo Mo's Cafe

By Jada Miceli

Meet Priya Tejpal, a communications major and arts management minor. As if being a senior in college isn’t enough, Tejpal is opening her own cafe. Tejpal tells how she juggles all her responsibilities and is determined to follow in her family’s footsteps, becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Priya Tejpal poses for a photo. (Photo via Priya Tejpal)

You’re opening a cafe; Tell me more about that.

Basically, I come from a family of entrepreneurs. I have always been very intrigued by what they do, and they are all great at what they do. Specifically, my stepdad; he has been my mentor the past few years. He has been teaching me all about the industry. He is a very successful businessman. Specifically, with cafes, I was someone that was always seeking a third space. I could not focus at home, ever. I always went towards cafes. I love people-watching while getting my work done and having a nice drink. That was all I went to during high school, even in college, to get work done. It’s something I felt very well-versed in. Before I knew it, we were a team, and we started looking at locations in the area. Once we got that, we started working on everything cafe-related to make this as perfect as possible. This is my first business I’m opening, so it is kind of scary. 

You said your stepdad was a mentor to you. What does your stepdad do?

He got his master’s in computer science and started coding for different companies, and now he owns a bunch of his own companies. He has a team of people coding specific programs, some of them include medical programs at hospitals and doctors’ offices.

That’s very impressive. Do you have a name for your cafe?

Yes! It’s Mo Mo’s Cafe, that is the name of my first cat. We thought it would be a cute name. We did a survey to friends and family, and that was the most successful one. So, we stuck with it, and it was the one with the most sentimental value. 

That is so cute, oh my gosh. I love that. When are you projected to open? Do you have an opening date yet?

Not an official opening date, but we are projected to open in May, so very soon. It feels a little surreal right now.

That’s really exciting. Is this a family project?

My stepdad has been helping a lot with the financial side and using his experience with his own businesses. I have been spearheading the vision and design, and wherever I can put the marketing, that’s me. We split the work up pretty evenly. We have been working on this for about a year now. 

That’s so exciting. Do you have a menu yet?

Yes, we do have a menu. We are working on adding a couple little special things. We are going to be having coffee, tea, bubble tea, and some nice sandwiches and pastries. Most cafes don’t have bubble tea, and if anyone knows me, they know that is my favorite drink. It was crucial we had it in our own cafe.

If you’re going to get bubble tea, what’s your order?

My order has been this way for years: mango green tea with lychee jelly and tapioca bubbles.

That sounds so good. Will that be on the menu? Maybe a house special?

Of course, it has to be. Maybe I’ll call it the ‘Priya Special’ [laughs] who knows?

Have you had any experiences working in the service industry?

I used to work at a restaurant as a hostess and a waitress. I’ve been doing customer service and working with people since I was 14. When I was 14, I started my own voice lessons business. I used to go to a performing arts high school for singing, and I had been doing that since I was 3 years old. So, I started teaching kids in my neighborhood and my area voice lessons. I’ve done a lot of interesting jobs. I worked at a dentist’s office, I taught swim lessons, I’ve done a lot of different things. I think I have a good handle on dealing with people. The experience of working with people and doing some sort of service is something I’m very proficient in. 

Do you have a color scheme for the cafe? What is the vibe, so I can picture it in my head?

My color scheme has very earthy tones. I wanted to create a peaceful atmosphere for students, remote workers or anyone who wants to lounge. My color scheme is sage green, cream, beige and some dark brown. I want this to be an arts cafe, where we have events like open mic nights and painting nights. I would love for the walls to be covered in artwork by high school students and college students, to give people a platform to showcase their work.

The beginning stages of Mo Mo’s Cafe. (Photo via Priya Tejpal)

Have you started looking for staff?

We posted a job application on Indeed a while ago. It randomly got 900 submissions, so we had to pause it. I recently got my barista training done. The construction has been going on but as soon as the bar is complete, we’re going to start hiring and training people to be baristas.

How do you juggle doing all of this while still being a student?

To be honest, it can be very hard at times. It’s something I’m still learning how to manage now. I’ve been working on my time management and prioritizing what’s important. This semester is my last semester at Purchase, I’m graduating in May. I scheduled my classes twice a week, so I have the rest of my time to do everything else I have to do. I know I’m trying my best, so I need to give myself a little bit of grace with it.

There’s something about working at a young age that helps you be able to persevere when you’re trying to juggle so many different things. What’s the most important thing to you, outside of all of this?

The most important thing to me is how you carry yourself through life. I’m someone that really cares about the relationships around me. I think it is important to treat people well and always be kind. I do believe in karma, and I think it will come back to you. You’re the only person that knows yourself better than anyone. So, don’t let what anyone says get to you. I have a Japanese philosophy tattooed on me; it’s called ‘Wabi Sabi’. It’s about letting things happen, whether it’s good or bad. Be okay with things not going your way.

You seem like you’re really into philosophy and how people treat other people. I think being kind is so important, but rare. Was that something that was always important to you?

My grandma passed away when I was in the fourth grade, she was kind of like my best friend. She was someone who was always a giver. She was from India and was extremely poor. Whenever she had food, she would give it to the other children and people in the neighborhood out of the goodness of her heart. She was someone who always handled herself with a lot of grace and kindness, so to me, she’s the biggest person I look up to. I want to keep making her proud and live up to the life she did.