He Brews Coffee offers more than a cup
New West Sacramento Coffee Shop seeks to help locals get ahead through financial services classes
Tucked between a tire shop and 7-Eleven along Jefferson Boulevard, He Brews Coffee is attempting to help West Sacramento residents get ahead through cups of coffee and financial services classes.
Owner Michael Hayes explained that he is a “serial entrepreneur” and opened the coffee shop — located at 1540 Jefferson Blvd. — in an empty conference room he wasn't utilizing.
“I'm an avid coffee drinker and… now I have a way to make my addiction pay for itself,” Hayes said.
He noted that the origin of the coffee shop's name comes from a joke a comedian in the 1980s made that stuck with him.
The comedian “woke up one morning and told her husband
he needs to make coffee,” Hayes recounted. “And he says, `Well why should I make coffee?” To which she replied, “Because the bible says the man is supposed to make coffee because they made a whole book about it called Hebrews.”
The coffee shop has been doing a “soft opening” since December 2023, offering specialty coffees, pastries, and kitchen specials, including bagels, avocado toast and a variety of paninis. Hayes plans on holding an official grand opening sometime in March once the weather becomes more predictable.
“We're using this time to get our barista legs, so we're welcoming people to come in and taste,” he noted. “If it's not to their standards, we'll remake it for free because we're perfecting the art so that we're giving the community what they desire in locally roasted coffees and international teas.”
He hopes to take over the parking lot with food trucks, bounce houses and more for the grand opening, which will be announced on social media once a date is determined.
Furthermore, Hayes' ultimate goal is to offer financial services to interested customers through free classes he hopes to start offering in the summertime, covering topics such as how money works, investing, and how to start a business or nonprofit.
“We're not get rich quick or anything like that, it is really providing you with the foundation to go into business for yourself if that's what you desire, or training for staff,” he explained.
As the owner of Vested Interest Consulting Tax Service and Vested Interest Consulting — both of which are in the same building as the coffee shop — Hayes hopes his expertise could provide help to anyone in need of financial guidance.
“We'll be having a lot of financial service workshops in order to benefit the community from taxes to really anything that has to do with finances,” he added. “We can help them from a personal level of creating a budget to managing workflows for staffing.”
Additionally, Hayes said he wants his coffee shop to fill a void of hangout spots along Jefferson Boulevard.
“We want to revitalize Jefferson Boulevard and I've put a lot of money into transforming this building and we want to make it available to as many people as we can,” he emphasized. “The energy in this place is amazing. We're a place for the locals.”
One of the ways he's done this is by welcoming all people and allowing dogs in his establishment. “I'm a dog lover and what I found as we've opened the doors is that it is cold, people are going out for walks with their dogs and they're hanging out outside,” he stressed. “So I told them to bring their dogs in. There is space available for them in our lobby. I want to be all-inclusive and everybody is welcome here.”
Furthermore, He Brews features art created by local artists and partners with a local honey manufacturer and a local sourdough maker, according to Hayes.
“It's basically like an art gallery,” he remarked. “We'll be doing some paint and sips, starting off with coffee, but it's designed to be a place for everybody to be able to come in, relax, and get work done.”
Hayes's son, Devante Hayes, manages the coffee shop and said it's been a nice experience seeing the business come together.
“It's nice to see the business grow and how popular we've already gotten without having our social media at a solid point,” he highlighted.
The 29-year-old argued that the business feels like a community coffee shop already because many residents in the neighborhood they're located in have been coming since they opened.
“All the State Street residents… have been waiting for us a good month or two before we opened because we had the sign up since August,” Devante said. “So it built that intrigue of, `Well I just knew there was a 7-Eleven here, I didn't know there's a coffee shop.'”
Devante also highlighted his father's ambitions of holding financial services workshops and classes because it's “a great way to get the community involved in something else.”
“Instead of just doing their normal taxes year in and year out, sort of figuring out what other ways they can have money work for them,” he stressed. “I think that'd be a very helpful and informative class for anyone that shows up.”
Brian Thompson is a West Sacramento resident who lives nearby and has been coming to He Brews Coffee since they opened in early December. He recommends people try their dark roast coffee.
“It's exactly about 450 feet away from my front door,” Thompson explained. “We're not Starbucks people, so it's easy enough to come here and they're good coffee and good people.”
Over the next five years, Hayes hopes to “duplicate” his efforts by opening new locations around West Sacramento.
“We want to expand to another location or be a part of another business,” he said. “It is really understanding what the needs of the individual community are and giving an opportunity to local mom and pop businesses to shine… so when you come to He Brews Coffee, you're truly getting a sense or a taste of West Sacramento.”