Today we’d like to introduce you to Tohm Ifergan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tohm. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
For me, coffee was never a profession of choice, it was more so a product of my surroundings. As a Mexican born kid growing up very humbly in the north shore suburbs of Chicago, I never connected with coffee. My parents rarely drank it, and if they did, it was mainly at night with something sweet from the panaderia. We came to America as a family completely broke.
Only with the opportunity, my father had to work with his brother, a hair salon owner, were we able to build a life. Hair wasn’t his first profession either. He led a life as a touring musician in France for ten years chasing the dream. It wasn’t until the realities of raising a family drew him into the hair business. His other brother, also a salon owner helped him learn how to cut hair in Mexico. Although I didn’t intend to follow a similar path, it happened in a different way.
Growing up, my brother was a guitarist playing in pretty popular high school bands. As the younger brother who looked up to him, I strived to be a musician as well. I played in my own (pretty mediocre) bands until eventually my brother and I played together. Now, this was a pretty critical moment for my life. At the time my parents were back in Mexico, I was 17 and working two full-time jobs and a part-time job. I had just dropped out of college to pursue music and tour.
Coffee wasn’t necessarily there yet, but I needed money to pay rent and all the student loans I suddenly had to pay after dropping out. I worked in fast-casual restaurants (even though I tried to work at Starbucks- they never hired me after two interviews) and eventually full-service restaurants as a line cook or server. That’s when I started to learn a bit about coffee. When I wasn’t working on the line, I’d be making lattes (very poorly) for the brunch crowd.
Eventually, it got me a job at a more cafe forward restaurant. My co-worker at the time, Andreas, was intimidating yet really passionate about coffee. I became very curious to learn from him and become good at it. It was a fun hobby for me, as I went through the slow gains of the music business. At the time, my brother had left my own band to join a moderately more successful one. I had tried other projects and felt conflicted on my future as a drummer, then it finally happened. I got a break.
What came from what I believe as sheer luck: a friend recommended me for an open position in a band based out California. A friend I only made because I needed a new apartment and his gf whom I never met listed an apartment on Craigslist. An apartment I needed solely after the one I shared with my brother and friends got robbed. I got the gig because the singer’s wife liked my Instagram over the other potential drummers. I had only joined Instagram a couple of weeks prior.
That’s a lot of randomness, but it landed me in California playing for a band called From Indian Lakes for the majority of my 20’s. It was that opportunity that eventually led me where I am now. I needed a job between tours, and fortunately, a couple of baristas working at Portola Coffee Lab were fans of the band and helped me get a job. During my travels domestically and overseas I was able to try the coffee at a variety of cafes.
I learned a lot about the industry just by chatting with baristas before soundcheck or before an 8-hour drive. When I’d come home, there was so much turn over at the shop that it gave me opportunities to move up, even though management was hesitant due to my music career. Looking back, I’m very grateful they gave me the chance to be creative. It was there that I was able to express myself in a way I didn’t expect from coffee.
As the years went by, coffee and music became two strong focuses in my life. When my wife and I were expecting our first child, touring life was challenging. I wanted to be there for her and live out my career dreams at the same time. Ultimately it led to a strain between myself and my bandmates, and I felt conflicted about my future. Music was my life. I didn’t feel satisfied.
I wanted to tour more, possibly with other bands and play in countries I never got to. I contemplated starting from scratch and starting my own band again. What I never considered is that I could start something different. Something I’ve been working at for longer than music. Something, at the time, I never thought I’d enjoy. It wasn’t until my cousin Philippe approached me about starting a coffee business that I ever thought it was possible.
I had no money, was about to have my first child and knew nothing about owning a business. We talked about carts and pop up opportunities. We looked at build outs and turned key opportunities. I wanted something close to home. However, I didn’t really know what home was. I spent most of my time living in California on tour. We looked at many spaces in Orange County. What surprised both of us was contemplating a space in Silver Lake.
It was previously a restaurant and had some basic elements that would cut down our costs. I had enormous doubt we’d be able to pull it off, but we did. We didn’t have the resources these other shops did, but we built a cafe we are proud of. After everything I did in music, this was the first time I felt like I was creating art on my own.
We built something that was ours and an expression of myself and my experiences. It wasn’t the profession I thought I wanted, but it became the one I enjoyed the most. Like my father, I had a new craft to be proud of by making others happy.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We came across a lot of challenges upon opening. A partnership that fell apart, financial issues, pitfalls left behind by the previous business. The most notable one was our name. We were initially called Neon and had a legal conflict over the name that forced us to change to Dayglow.
At the time, I remember thinking we were never going to survive it. We used all of our working capital on legal fees and rebranding. Gratefully I had really supportive friends and colleagues that helped us launch the Dayglow brand.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Dayglow – what should we know?
Dayglow initially was dreamed up as an online subscription platform. We wanted to integrate all the best aspects of direct to consumer shipping with the benefits of a retail cafe. Almost like an Apple store for coffee. We still offer that service and ship out coffees from all around the world to customers in North America.
At the cafe, we offer that same large collection of domestic and international coffees prepared in multiple ways. We were grateful to win Sprudge’s Best New Cafe for the success built around that program. However, I’m most proud of our marketing strategy. It’s probably the best reflection of who I am.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I couldn’t have started Dayglow without the support of my wife, Sherye. She has one of the most intense, high-stress jobs in the world, being a night nurse in the PCU at Cedars Sinai. To come home and raise an infant after working all night is immensely challenging. She really persevered and was there for me when it was toughest.
Particularly in the beginning, not having any income and working all the time put a lot of strain on us as a family. She held us up financially, physically and mentally, I admire her every day. She is truly a badass, and I’m so lucky to have her as a wife and mother of our daughter.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3206 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026 - Website: Dayglow.coffee
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @dayglowcoffee
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