Our Story
In the late 1980s, Crystal’s parents courageously journeyed from Vietnam to America, settling in Sacramento, California. Among the first businesses they opened was a coffee shop in Little Saigon called Café Chiều Tím.
This humble café allowed them to build a life in their new country and provided a space to gather their community and bring family members from Vietnam. It symbolized their resilience and hope as they navigated their new life.
When Crystal was born, they decided to close the café.
In those days, coffee shops were often smoky, bustling spaces, and her parents wanted a healthier environment for their newborn daughter.
Crystal’s mother would tuck her into a cubby during naps to shield her from the haze of cigarette smoke—a common sight in the coffee shops of Vietnam, where older men would gather to sip coffee and catch up on life.
Decades later, Chloé Cà Phê is a full-circle tribute to those same roots in Sacramento and Vietnam.
What started as a dream became a reality, inspired by our love for coffee and our desire to reconnect with the traditions that built our family. Our passion for Vietnamese coffee runs deep, and we wanted to create a space that honors the journey that began in that little coffee shop years ago.
The passing of Charley’s father in Vietnam at the end of 2023 further solidified our decision to pour everything into this new chapter: Chloé Cà Phê.
By February of 2024, we took Chloé back to Vietnam on her first-ever international trip, having her with us in coffee shops and visiting farms to pick coffee with us as we seek out the right producers and farmers to work with.
After years of running The Drunken Dumpling, our mobile food catering business that takes us to large-scale festivals like Head in the Clouds by 88Rising and Foodieland Night Markets nationwide, we longed for something more grounded.
In 2024, it became clear that we needed a change after a grueling 7-week stretch with Charley driving from Sacramento to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston, and Dallas. The desire to be closer to home, especially with our baby girl, Chloé, became our priority.
Our coffee shop and roastery focus solely on sourcing the finest beans from Vietnam. The coffee in our motherland now rivals the best in the world, and we’re proud to showcase rare and exceptional varieties like Fine Robusta, THA1, Liberica, and Catimor to Bourbons.
As the second-largest coffee producer globally and the leading producer of Robusta, Vietnam has a rich coffee heritage that is deeply personal to us. We are determined to show the world its excellence and place in specialty coffee, and we invite you to be a part of this cultural journey.
At Chloé Cà Phê, this is more than a business—it’s a family legacy.
We build direct relationships with our farmers and pay above-fair trade prices because this isn’t just about coffee for us. It’s about our people, our homeland, and the traditions that shaped who we are. We are committed to providing you with the best and value your role in our journey.