Before Toops was a coffee shop, it was a small act of hospitality in a garage: a brewer, a table, and the hope that someone would want to stay for another cup.
Small rooms make the truth obvious
When there is nowhere for the idea to hide, the important questions arrive quickly. Is the coffee good? Does the room feel generous? Would someone choose to come back when the novelty has worn off?
The garage gave us useful limits. We could not impress people with scale, so we paid attention to the cup, the conversation and the tiny details that make a place feel human.
Growth should keep the original promise
Every new Toops will be bigger than that first table in one way or another. The challenge is not to preserve the garage as a look. It is to preserve what it asked of us: be present, make the coffee properly and build for the person in front of you.
That is still the test for every menu, counter and new room we design.
The garage was not a temporary version of Toops. It was the clearest version of the idea.
— Sooraj