Master’s Grad Revives a Community Hub

CIA’s Master’s Program Guides Professionals Towards Their Dreams

Jacob Marotta ’22, has always had a passion for food and fostering connections within his community. The two biggest influences on his culinary journey were his mother and Nini’s Coffee Shop, a local hub in San Mateo, CA. He’s using his master’s in Food Business to revive the local business and forge his family’s future.

Photo credit: Yelp.com for Nini’s Coffee Shop.

Growing up, his mother didn’t love to cook, but she prioritized bringing the family together for dinner. “She would sacrifice that time every single day to get us sitting down, talking, discussing our days, and just eating together. That’s where it really started—just seeing the power of food, even from someone who was sacrificing their time,” he recalls. This quality time drew Jacob and his sister, Sarah, to careers in food. Jacob always had Rachael Ray on the television, even if only in the background, and from third grade onward, he prepared Thanksgiving dinner with his grandmother. “Just lots of memories, lots of time spent together around food,” he reflects.

Jacob was teaching culinary arts, but he wanted back into the action of the business world. Uncertain to start, he turned to the Culinary Institute of America, knowing it would support him no matter what direction his career took. Even with its asynchronous online format, CIA’s master’s program fosters direct collaboration among students. “The best part of [the program] is all the perspectives you get on the food business,” he says. The curriculum is structured into different tracks designed to support individuals looking to create their own businesses or scale within existing companies.

After his first year and a trip to London, Jacob realized he wanted to explore the world of tea, though he was unsure of his next steps. “Since a lot of your assignments are peer-reviewed, and it’s just amazing to get that immediate feedback. As you make adjustments—sometimes you end up with a completely different idea than you started with, and that’s fantastic! I was one of those people,” he shared.

“In those first couple of courses, I started researching and was wowed by everything out there. I completed another assignment about tea, then another, and slowly I was doing a lot of assignments about a fictional tea business. Then it just turned into my capstone. It was organic and natural through how we were guided in the classes.”

CIA’s master’s program functions as an incubator, where students continuously refine ideas in the food industry. Students may want to launch restaurants, design artisanal wines, or even repurpose waste materials into sustainable products like pens. “The diversity of product ideas was fantastic,” Jacob says. “Everyone was viewing your project from a different perspective and so maybe a hole that you didn’t notice, but someone else would be like, ‘hey, you’re going to have trouble with your supply chain here. I know because that’s what I manage’ or someone who’s working on a bio-organic product could look at someone else’s product would say ‘This is going to have to work this way’ and the feedback you’re getting is really helping to shape everything you’re doing.”

CIA provides students a safe, but challenging space to work within to develop their projects and test components before implementing them in the real world. As part of their capstone project, students are required to assemble a panel of business leaders within their sector.

“The assignments led me to take steps I might not have taken otherwise. I don’t think I would’ve ever reached out to one of the founders of Harney & Sons without the program.” These steps serve as reminders that it never hurts to ask for guidance. “It’s terrifying in the best possible way, but at the end of the day, what’s the worst that can happen? If someone says no, you find another person who can help.”

Students find within this program that, more often than not, people want to help bring their ventures to life. Through his capstone, Jacob connected with an array of experts, from a professor at UC Davis specializing in tea to a wholesaler for one of the largest tea companies—and most notably, the founders of Harney & Sons. “[They] gave me a personal tour of their tea business. Those real-world connections and insights were invaluable—all these people were there for me.” Harney & Sons generously shared their business model and tea varieties, further inspiring Jacob’s ventures.

In a twist of fate, as Jacob considered his next move, the inspiration for his journey—his local cafe—closed its doors. Nini’s Coffee Shop, like many businesses, did not survive the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For decades, Nini’s had been a community gathering place in San Mateo. Jacob recalls his first outing after receiving his driver’s license: “It was me, my grandparents, and my cousins. We all loaded up, and I drove us to Nini’s” he reminisced. “There’s a lot of history here, and many people in the community have the same connection.”

Photo by The San Mateo Daily Journal Nini’s walls memorialized their community’s sentimental moments, reflecting its role as a beloved neighborhood institution.

While investing in his master’s degree at CIA, the idea of saving Nini’s became a guiding force. “After [the pandemic], so many of us felt isolated. If we could just save Nini’s and bring it back, that would be a small step toward rebuilding and bringing everyone back together.” Jacob and his family felt deeply attached to the space and didn’t want to see it become anything else. “We wanted it to remain a place for the community to gather.”

In his second year at CIA, Jacob redirected his capstone project toward reopening Nini’s Coffee Shop—with a twist. He and his sister, Sarah, decided to introduce a special tea service component. Their family had a tradition of visiting tea services while traveling. “But we wanted to put our own spin on it,” he says. “We make it relaxed, beautiful, welcoming, and inviting—it’s not a formal high tea.” They designed themed tables to add an element of playfulness and ensure that each guest feels included. “The community’s response has really encouraged us and let us know we’re on the right track.” Honoring the past while building a future, they have kept Nini’s iconic 1950s-era door. However, they have renamed the café Kiki’s Coffee Shop—after their mother’s nickname, given to her by Jacob’s nieces and nephews.

Photo by Devin Roberts.

As they build out Kiki’s Coffee Shop, Jacob continues to draw from his master’s education. “We received some great advice: save everything. Some people kept binders; I have mine in an online database. There’s not a single thing you won’t want to look back on. Just a couple of weeks ago, I referenced an old assignment to find a list of taglines we had developed.”

CIA’s master’s program prepared him for the many roles business leaders must juggle. “You have to be ready to dive into anything, but the program really prepares you for that. There’s no stone left unturned. From learning about food systems to design thinking, leadership, marketing, branding, and supply chain management—it gives you the confidence to say, ‘We’ve done this. We’ve practiced this. Let’s apply it and keep moving forward.’”

Photo by Devin Roberts.

And Kiki’s Coffee Shop is doing just that: kikiscoffeeshop.com.

Are you ready to launch your own business in a supportive environment? Or do you want to elevate a component of your existing role? Learn more about CIA’s master’s in Food Business and expand your career opportunities today.