Owning It: Homegrown Coffee and Creations
Christian Sassani always knew he’d own his own business.
From landscaping gigs in high school to building a recording studio, find out how he landed in the Philly cafe scene as the founder of
HomeGrown Coffee and Creations.
How old were you when you knew you’d want to own your own business?
It was 5th grade, so however old that is. My teacher gave us a Powerpoint project. We had to pick what we wanted to be when we grew up and define the career with 20 Powerpoint slides. Even as a kid, I was always fascinated with someone who owned their own business, I felt they could do whatever they want. I asked “What do you call the owner of a business?” He responded “A CEO”. The first slide on my PowerPoint proudly displayed “CHRISTIAN SASSANI: A CEO”
The desire to pursue my own business grew even more when I hit high school. I was out in Palm Coast *about 20 miles outside of Daytona* and saw a need for landscaping. I went out with my buddy Devante (@itsdevanteyo) and just started knocking on doors.
It really was hard to start a business in Florida at that time. I was a young kid and there were nothing but retirement homes and a lot of fixed incomes where I was living.
I ended up moving to Philadelphia right after high school to work with my father building out trade show booths. Saved up money for 2-3 years and knew I’d use that to start another business. My dad’s wood shop is in Pennsauken, NJ and I decided I’d build a recording studio right next to it. BOOMBOX STUDIOS. I made a few hip-hop beats.
I built a pretty cool studio but didn’t stay open all that long.
How long was it open?
6 months and we said this isn’t for us.
I dove in without much knowledge of the business side of the industry.
It’s hard to have confidence when you don’t have someone with experience or direction helping you.
So then you opened a cafe?
Well, actually… then I opened a Vape Shop. Right at the corner of 15th and Shunk. Renovated the entire place. Studied the trends in the industry people were gravitating towards. Ordered $10,000 worth of inventory. And the day after I did, the State of Pennsylvania instituted a 40% tax on all vaping products. Thankfully, I was able to return 75% of them so I didn’t get burned too bad. Probably was a good thing. I didn’t have any passion about what I was doing. It just seemed like a good means to an end at the time. I needed to find something I was passionate about and could still make money for a long time.
It sounds like you were meant to run a business.
What inspired you when deciding opening
a cafe in Philly was the right move?
Two things. The first, I was always curious how to make the perfect latte. The precision of how a drink is made and the precision of construction just all make sense in my brain. The second thing was I always felt a cafe was a way to bring a neighborhood and families together too. Family was one of the big factors. I have about 30-35 family members in this neighborhood. My father only lives a few blocks away. With all of this, passion got involved, passion took over, and the success followed after. Both of these passions were tied to each other for me. Bringing people together is just as important as the quality of the products I serve them.
The place is so perfectly put together and always a great vibe in here.
Who or what was your influence in the design?
I always pictured a café with the feel of a vintage living room in a grandmother’s house. My Uncle Jimmy really themed the place out with the artwork selections.
A lot of the mosaics and my favorite cafe scene are from The Big Lebowski by @TheJohnFCom and is featured at the center of the café.
We also have a few pieces from @SaraJadeUnderwood // We put up a sign that we wanted to feature local artists. She responded and the rest is history.