Photos:: 7 Leaves Cafe
Son Nguyen, aka Sonny, stands outside 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove, the second coffee shop the four brothers opened in Orange County.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)The story behind 7 Leaves Cafe is one of brotherhood, culture and an ambition to create the Vietnamese American version of a big coffeehouse chain.
7 Leaves Cafe patrons place their orders in Garden Grove in May. The name stems from the seven ingredients used in the chain’s herbal tea.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)A customer selects handmade ganache-filled macarons at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove in May.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)A display of macarons at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Tim La of Newport Beach works at his laptop at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove in April. In Orange County, the cafe’s core clientele includes students from USC, Cal State Fullerton and other Southern California schools,
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)Leanne Chang, 18, of Garden Grove studying at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove in April.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)Manager Adam Alvarez makes an artisan black coffee at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove in April. The Nguyen siblings shared a devotion to the centuries-old arts of pressing ingredients by hand.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)A 7 Leaves Cafe employee serves a cup of love cream, a secret menu beverage that contains jasmine milk tea with extra milk and caramel at the Garden Grove location.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)7 Leaves Cafe co-owner Sonny Nguyen selects a macaron from a tray in Garden Grove in May. He and his brothers quit their safe middle-class jobs to chase a risky entrepreneurial dream.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Cal State Long Beach graphic design and film major Joshua Mathis, 19, of Garden Grove, talks with a friend at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grovein May.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Wendy Le, from left, of Garden Grove, Van Nguyen, of Elk Grove, and Anh Dam, of Orange, have a drink and talk at 7 Leaves Cafe in Garden Grove in May.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)This year, the Nguyen brothers and their backers expanded beyond their Southern California base to other markets including Las Vegas.
(Isaac Brekken / For The Times)The 7 Leaves Cafe in the Venetian resort is the company’s second location in Las Vegas.
(Isaac Brekken / For The Times)Customers attend the grand opening of a 7 Leaves Cafe at the Venetian in Las Vegas in March.
(Isaac Brekken / For The Times)