LETTERS FROM THE Founder

 18th September 2025

Three months in, and Café Fiori still feels surreal to me. I’m writing this with the café buzzing in the background, our KOT printers acting up, the team running trials of the new menu, running to Printo for the new menus, the Studio team putting in late hours to keep up with bread orders, and our Diwali special menu sitting untouched in a folder, waiting for its big reveal. Amidst the chaos, it feels like the perfect time to pause, dissociate just a little, and reflect.

They say the first three months of running an F&B space are the hardest. Boy, were they right. It’s been exhausting, exhilarating, terrifying, and heart-filling all at once. But if there’s one thing these weeks have confirmed, it’s this: you have to love what you’re building with your whole being to survive the rollercoaster.

There are days when the balance sheet gives me mini heart attacks, and others when a quiet afternoon makes me wonder if we did the right thing at all. Then there are moments when I walk through the café and see it alive with people, laughter, conversations, and memories; and suddenly, everything feels worth it.

In the last three months, here’s what we’ve lived through:

• 800 tables served: a number that feels both overwhelming and humbling. For a small team like ours, it’s a big milestone, even if it looks tiny compared to the giants in the city. Honestly, we didn’t even know our own potential until we opened our doors.
   
• Workshops and events: that brought new energy into the space, everything from crochet circles and emotional wellbeing sessions to cake picnics, Whitefield ladies’ coffee mornings, college reunions, intimate birthdays, and baby showers.
   
• A front-row seat to life unfolding. We’ve seen nervous first dates that blossomed into second, third, and fourth ones (and even celebrated a 40th wedding anniversary). We’ve watched power couples working side-by-side on laptops, friends reuniting after years, and regulars who’ve made this their everyday hangout. And because we’re in Bangalore, of course, we’ve hosted founders pitching decks and brainstorming startups everday.. fitting, since that’s how our own journey began too.
   

It’s funny how quickly the café has started to feel “full.” Full of memories, of stories, of connections. When we opened, I thought it would take years for the space to feel this alive, but here we are - 123 days in, and it already feels like it has a soul of its own.

Of course, this is just the beginning. The road ahead is long, and there are countless miles to go before Café Fiori becomes what we envision. But I’m deeply grateful  to our team, my families, and this wonderful community; for walking with us so far.

If the last three months have taught me anything, it’s that a café is never just a business. It’s a living, breathing place where life happens. And in those little moments: a smile over a cup of coffee, an indulgent bite of our DBC a conversation sparked, a memory made, we’ve found our reason to keep going.

Here’s to the next chapter.

With love, 

Anushka