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Thursday, March 21, 2024
Volume 162 No. 25 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
Nirvana brings Soul to library By Kaya Henkes-Power STAFF WRITER
Local San José coffee chain Nirvana Soul Coffee is set to open its third storefront location in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on Monday. Nirvana Soul Coffee, downtown San José’s first black woman-owned coffee shop, was founded by sisters and San José natives, Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu. “Our objectives are to serve high-quality coffee, create joyful experiences and an inclusive community while running efficient shops,” Ashaolu said. Ashaolu, who is also the founder and chief marketing officer, said stakeholders and certain procedures extended the timeline of the MLK Library Location, which was originally set to open in Fall 2023. “We typically open shops (around) one to three months of getting our keys,” she said. “We didn’t have any other partners or stakeholders, so we can move as quickly as we wanted to.” Ashaolu said the decision to open a shop in the MLK Library linked back to the support of San José State’s community, the historical significance and a personal connection. “It’s just a cool, fun collaboration of all the things we love,” Ashaolu said. “Between the school, the library, coffee and charitable dining services, everything is just coming together.” Nirvana Soul Coffee
opened its first storefront location in Downtown San José in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the sisters were working on opening shop doors a couple of years before the pandemic. “For us, we thought ‘Okay, this is just going to be, like, go home for two weeks and everyone will get back to work and get back to normal,’ ” Ashaolu said. Ashaolu said though that didn’t happen, the extra time allowed them to continue planning, with the goal to create an experience that people could enjoy once their storefronts did open. She said Nirvana Soul Coffee opened its roastery in 2021 in a facility in San José that roasts coffee beans sourced from other regions of the world. “We had two Ugandan coffees that we’ve been doing over the winter, that’s just very special and rare,” Ashaolu said. Jhoselin Milo, Nirvana Soul Coffee’s director of dining services, who had worked with Macey before, began working with the shop three months ago. “It was always something that (Macey) did mention, ‘Y’know, it’s my dream to open up my own coffee shop. This is the plan,’ ” Milo said. The MLK Library location remains consistent in ambience with the other Nirvana Soul storefronts, being adorned with unique artwork and bubblegum pink ceilings. “That’s a very big,
KAYA HENKES-POWER | SPARTAN DAILY
The new branch of local chain Nirvana Soul Coffee brights up the first floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
important thing for us, is to maintain our values across stores, no matter how they’re being operated,” Ashaolu said. She said the MLK storefront will have the same menu as other locations, but will have more food options created by on-site chefs. “It’s gonna be just another storefront, but we’re also going to be offering some grab-andgo food items created by some of our executive chefs on site,” Milo said. Ashaolu said additional items will include sandwiches, salads and soups along with the usual menu items such as waffles. Sai Deekshith Katukojwala, a graduate software
engineering student and barista at Nirvana Soul Coffee, said he is excited for students to experience the new store. “Ever since my friends knew I got this job they are asking me ‘When are you guys open? When can I come?’ so the students are very excited to come in,” Deekshith said. Deekshith said people should try out their specialty banana chai, a chai tea mix steamed into one’s choice of milk with banana syrup. “The spices, it’s aromatic but subtle, and then you have the sweetness of the banana,” Milo said. “It’s just a great combination.” Milo said the syrup flavors in the store are both
homemade and pre-made. Homemade syrup flavors include vanilla, ube, honey, and cake batter. The shop will feature local artists including some current SJSU students and some alums, offering a chance for their work to be in the spotlight once the shop opens. Milo said the hours of operation for the new location will be Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Ashaolu said Nirvana Soul Coffee’s style veers away from the mainstream expectation of a coffee shop and features an upbeat and bright
atmosphere. “I think for me and my sister we wanted something that matched our personality and this felt like our big shot,” she said. Ashaolu said she is excited to be able to build a brand that people love and a space that brings people together. “Driving past seeing people with our cups and now driving past San José State and seeing our logos on the window is such a surreal feeling,” Ashaolu said.
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Library exhibit chronicles healthcare By Melissa Alejandres STAFF WRITER
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library is holding an exhibit on the history of healthcare reform on the second floor to show how accessible healthcare has been for Americans throughout the decades. For All the People: A Century of Citizen Action in Health Care Reform is a traveling exhibit produced by the National Library of
Medicine, according to a webpage from the MLK Library. The National Library of Medicine is the world's biggest library that consists of health professionals and has new developments from scientists in healthcare every day, while promoting other health science libraries, according to its website. Medical librarian Dawn Hackman who works with the San José State University’s Valley
Foundation School of Nursing with the Department of Audiology and is a coordinator for the exhibit, said the purpose of the exhibit is to educate people and shine light on the history of medical collections. “A long time ago The National Library of Medicine started making these traveling exhibits available to libraries around the United States (to) highlight some of the great materials in the selections,” Hackman said.
MELISSA ALEJANDRES | SPARTAN DAILY
For All the People: A Century of Citizen Action in Health Care Reform information posters educate visitors about their traveling exhibit that currently resides at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
She said the collections range from information on AIDS activism, the Civil War, and historical collections in general. “I think the exhibit demonstrates the power of citizens not necessarily just from health care professionals, but the power that citizens have to provoke reform,” Hackman said. She said getting patients or everyday people involved tends to push people to improve certain systems, like healthcare. Hackman said she’s looking to program other projects including an event for Black Maternal Health Week, which she hopes to bring to life for National Public Health Week. Mariah Ramsour, a marketer and event coordinator for the MLK Library said the library is looking at proposals for new exhibits. Ramsour said there will be more exhibits this upcoming August or September. Ramsour said the exhibit is also translated in Spanish allowing more of the San José community to learn about the history of healthcare. She said although healthcare may not be affecting every community member, it is important to stay informed because it could be affecting their family members or other people around them. “There isn’t enough conversation about healthcare,” Ramsour said.
She said the community needs to continue having a dialogue about healthcare, whether the conversation is happening at the MLK library, or other universities and local businesses. She also said it is important to continue having these conversations with healthcare professionals to help break barriers to accessing healthcare. “For all the people means to me that healthcare should always be for everybody,” Ramsour said. Anamika Megwalu, a librarian at the MLK Library, said having the exhibit on the second floor for the entire public lends an educational ground. “Classes can come and visit,” Megwalu said. Megwalu said there is also a digital version of the exhibit for people to look at online to stay informed. The 1970s are still happening today and it’s shown through activism as a long-term project Megwalu said. “Even if people do not see any change within their lifetime it has a longer impact.”
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