On the corner of Reseda and Prairie sits R Cafe, a local coffee shop is quickly growing into a San Fernando Valley favorite. It’s hard to miss the small nook that’s reminiscent of the top-half  of a coffee cup. 

But owning a cafe was unexpected for partners Raymond Hodge, a CSUN alumni, and Evelyn Melgoza, who previously attended California State University, Northridge.

Hodge studied biology and wanted to go into research, while Melgoza studied sociology. They became owners of the shop just last year.

A few months prior to the acquiring the business Hodge and Melgoza took a trip to Mexico. There, they found a cozy cafe which they visited every day. Melgoza fell  in love with the idea of running a small shop, and said that the original idea was just to have pop-ups for special events.

But when the original owner of R Cafe (then called R Coffee House) presented them with the opportunity to take over the shop, Melgoza said that it felt like they manifested the chance.

Hodge and Melgoza try to maximize as much space as possible, as the area of the cafe is extremely small. Containers of oatmilk, coffee cups and flavored syrups line the walls, and the  shelves are tightly packed with kitchen supplies.

The smell of fresh coffee and buttery waffles quickly wafts throughout the space.

Melgoza comes up with the seasonal flavors herself, including the Matador Forever Latte, which is flavored with rose syrup as a homage to the roses left on the Matador Statue.

They get an early start every morning, readying the shop at 7 a.m., and end the day at almost nearly 11 p.m. to prepare for the next day. 

The long hours, on top of the recent surge in customers from a social media post about their shop, has led them to the edge of burnout. Hodge and Melgoza said that balancing out being bosses and continuing to be employees of the cafe has been strenuous.

But Melgoza said that the conversations she has with customers are what make the job worth it.