BR Exclusive: The Romanian coffee shop owner who had his first real coffee at 33

Calugaru Frumosu, a Romanian entrepreneur with an unusual name built a coffee brand that is ready to go global. The owner of Handsome Monk sought independence from an early age – at least financial independence. His first contact with work was at 14 years old. Of course, who is ever satisfied with the allowance they get from their parents?

The coffee business came almost naturally for Calugaru, after a “workout” with a restaurant on Decebal Blvd. in Bucharest, which became famous for its soups. “We caught good times, the market was totally different. After college, I spent a few years in Italy, England and Turkey. After I came back, I opened the soup restaurant. Then, in 2001, I went into the coffee business”, the entrepreneur told Business Review.

The businessman admits he had his first real coffee at the age of 33. “You know what it’s like, you taste good stuff, good coffee or anything, and then you end up always looking for that taste.”

The hard way up

As in so many other cases, the coffee shop market in Romania has potential – there are only three international chains present, plus a few native models inspired by ones abroad. Success will come to independent cafes that bring quality coffee, in at least four or five flavors, Calugaru believes.  They could also help educate the market.

He remembers the difficulties he faced at the beginning. “We had zero experience on how to run a coffee shop. Also, consumers were not educated to have quality coffee.  No one gave me a chance to make it more than six months. Today, we’ve expanded to eight coffee shops, all in a franchise system,” says the businessman with a smile on his face. When he first announced that he was selling franchises, they were sold in two weeks’ time. In the meantime, he opened Handsome Monk in Park Lake Mall, a coffee house that also incorporates a coffee brewing bar, where customers can experience coffee making in original ways, according to their own tastes and flavors, with the help of a barista. Unhealthy beverages are forbidden at Handsome Monk.

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The blends, the future

„After Italians invented espresso, I don’t know what other great inventions could amaze the coffee world. The great battle is about quality. And the secret is in roasting. We make our own blend from green coffee beans brought from five different countries – India, Brazil, Costa Rica, Kenya, Ethiopia that we roast ourselves”, says the owner of Handsome Monk. Blending means combining several types of coffee to preserve taste. There are coffee brands, for example, that use up to 18 types of coffee to create their own taste.

For the future, the entrepreneur plans to open three other coffee shop franchises in Bucharest, one on Calea Victoriei, one in Dorobanti and one on Elisabeta Boulevard. He wants to maintain and sustain growth, especially in Bucharest. He is also thinking of going global. “London would be a target; after all, we’ve thought about the concept for this city. Handsome Monk is a project we have been working on for a long time and we think it would do well there,” Frumosu said.