This is a whole story on its own — but let’s talk about it in the context of building the best coffee shop in the world. When I was working on Kaffee von Sascha, I knew from day one: this was my “training” café.
Honestly, and I’ll be straight with you — I needed money. I had some savings, sure, but living in Vienna isn’t cheap, and I needed a steady income. I chose this path for a reason. I understood the risks, I knew I could fail, and I was okay with that. The goal was clear: make some money, get real experience, and use that to move forward.
It wasn’t easy. Finding a space, setting it up, getting it registered — especially for someone just starting out — that was tough. But I pulled it off. And then, the first guests came. It was terrifying, awkward, and completely thrilling.
To this day, I don’t understand why those early customers kept coming back. The coffee I made back then was nowhere near “amazing.” I was insecure, scared every day that something would go wrong, and that no one would ever come back. But people came. They ordered coffee.
At first, I was a total coffee snob. I’d refuse to give people sugar. I’d laugh when someone ordered an Americano — especially with milk. I tried to convince everyone to drink nothing but straight espresso or filter coffee. I didn’t care if they left and never came back. And yeah… sometimes they didn’t.
We had cheesecake and a couple of other desserts. People loved them. But I didn’t want to sell anything besides coffee. For a while, we even served breakfast — it got popular, fast. But that annoyed me even more, and eventually I cut it. Still, I’ve got to say: the cheesecake and cakes Nina made were amazing. A lot of people came just for those. It’s such a shame she doesn’t see herself as a pastry chef.
The café itself was small. About 50-60 square meters. Maybe 20 for guests, 10 for the bar. Eight seats inside — that’s the max allowed without extra permits — plus six outside in the summer. No public restroom.
As for equipment — I couldn’t afford the fancy stuff. We had a pretty standard two-group La Marzocco Linea PB, a couple of Mazzer Koni grinders, and some basic tools. Later on, I bought a Victoria Arduino Mythos One grinder. Funny enough, our filter grinder was this old Mazzer Super Jolly I got from the Pirates — the very one they started their shop with. It’s still at my place, still grinding.
That first year, I bought coffee from the Pirates. I’d hop on the trolley every week with bags and bring back fresh beans. Shoutout to Werner and Evelin — I’m so grateful.
That café is where I learned everything: the skills, the experience, even won some awards (don’t ask me how — third place at the Austrian Barista Championship in 2016). But most importantly, it’s where the idea was born — to make the best coffee in the world in the best café in the world. I met the people who helped shape me, who believed in me, who still believe in me. It gave me something I couldn’t get any other way — my first real experience.
But weirdly enough, that first café wasn’t just training. It built something much bigger: reputation. It’s been over four years since I sold it, and still, almost every day at Fenster, someone brings it up — either remembering the café on Pilgramgasse or thinking I still own it. And every time I start a new project, people say: “That’s Sasha — the guy who opened Kaffee von Sascha on Pilgramgasse.”
Eventually, two years after opening, I sold it. Officially, the reason was I started working on another project — Schrnk (we’ll get to that). There was no way I could juggle both. So…
Really, it was a step forward. And selling Kaffee von Sascha felt like the only right move.
Those were good years. Fun, emotional, sometimes bittersweet — but absolutely essential. Without them, nothing else would’ve happened. And I’m grateful for how it all turned out. So many people believed in me. Still do. Maybe that’s why I never stopped, never gave up.
I just kept chasing coffee. 🙂
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