Tony Jolly transformed his passion for coffee into a thriving community space in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park neighborhood with crucial support from U.S. Bank. Starting his career at Starbucks at age 19, Jolly gained expertise working with coffee in Ethiopia before establishing his own café. His partnership with U.S. Bank demonstrates how hospitality, community connection, and strategic financial relationships can create successful ventures.
Jolly translated his past experiences into a bright future as a specialty coffee entrepreneur, though it was a dark time that tested his resolve. He started with a shop called Hot and Cool Café. It took a disaster to plant the seeds of its transition to ORA Urban Café.
“Through the torrential rains of 2003, 2004, our ceiling collapsed, and quite frankly I was done,” Jolly said. “I was tired. We’ve given a lot, I mean 15 hours a day and every day trying to maintain this thing, and I almost thought about stepping away, believe it or not. But a friend stepped in and was like, ‘Tony. I see your ceiling. It’s a big wet hole there, and I can’t let you leave, so I have an idea for this.’ And I gave him the keys and walked away, and he came back with a stunning remodel, and it no longer looked like Hot and Cool. We decided to change the menu to be a little bit more ultra clean.”…