Walking down 28th street a few days ago I noticed a mysterious wooden stand in front of the Old Fiji House. There were no balloons or girl-scout type aggressors flagging me down, just a simple setup and a friendly face. Feeling perplexed, I reached out to get the inside scoop on USC’s newest coffee competitor: The Morning After.
Meet Neema Bradi, the creative mastermind behind the business. I sat down with this budding entrepreneur and his finance guru/hype man, Andrew Manavi, to hear more. The two LA natives joined forces with Nathan Aframian (CFO) and Geffen Weitzman (Co-Founder) to turn Neema’s vision of a trendy, non-dairy coffee shop into a reality.
At the heart of The Morning After is Coffee Boy: lovelorn and hungover, ready to share his inner thoughts with the next person he encounters. He writes along the coffee cups his inner thoughts, clever puns, and funny phrases. With every cup comes the eerie and wonderful feeling that someone’s written you a love note.
*Spoiler Alert* Neema’s the man behind the notes.
The chicken scratch handwriting once critiqued by Neema’s elders is pivotal to the raw and disheveled look of the brand. Andrew says he’ll often find Neema surrounded by cluttered papers writing out new material. Even his white converse are covered in the memorable handwriting.
So, what are you drinking?
Neema has sourced his coffee from Brazil through roasters he found in Seattle. The Morning After serves small cups in order to truly taste the coffee, which according to reviews is deliciously sweet on its own. Matcha is also on the menu and they plan to expand their options soon. As for the milk, the oh-so-famous Oatly is the star of the show. However, they also use almond, coconut and skim.
What’s next for The Morning After?
Neema hopes to open a permanent location of The Morning After on Fairfax Ave one day with a “Kazu Nori-esque”, community style bar that is sure to become a trendy hotspot. But in the meantime, embrace your inner Coffee Boy, roll out of bed (shacker shirts welcome) and walk of ~fame~ your way to divulge last night's happenings over a delicious roast at the stand on campus.
As of now you can't pin down Coffee Boy, so stay tuned on The Morning After’s happenings by following them on Instagram: @themorningaftercoffeeboy.