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Dad Spent His Quarantine Building a Tiny Backyard Coffee Shop & We Are Seriously Impressed

NewsPublished Aug 5, 2020
By Kaitlin Stanford
Coffee shopELS Builds/Instagram

Most of us had some grand plans for how we'd spend the quarantine. We said we would lose weight. We said we'd become master puzzlers. We said we'd finally tackle that bathroom DIY we've been thinking about for years. In the end, few of us actually accomplished those goals. But Ed Stefanovic appears to be in the minority. For three months, the dad from Orange County, California spent his quarantine building a tiny coffee shop in his backyard -- from scratch! -- and the end results are some straight-up Joanna Gaines-inspired goodness.

Ed's daughter, Julianna Astrid, posted about her dad's amazing feat on Twitter in June.

"Did my dad really build a coffee shop in the backyard by himself within 3 months?" she captioned her post. "Absolutely."

Um, wow.

The adorable "coffee shop" is basically a tiny home that Ed designed from scratch.

But instead of being a place for him to live, it's meant to be a place for his family to escape to when they're looking to relax.

He even gave it an adorable name: La Vida.

Inside, you'll find all the usual things you'd see at a real coffee shop.

There's a counter for "ordering," which holds a coffee maker, a mini-fridge, and a display case for housing treats like croissants and danishes. There's also plenty of seating for patrons (ahem, family) to lounge in while they watch TV or warm up by the faux fireplace.

One thing's for sure: You will never get bored at La Vida Cafe.

The coffee shop has a magazine rack to browse through and a chessboard. Outside, a pingpong table is set up under a small awning to shield you from the summer sun.

The fact that it's designed and decorated with a modern farmhouse aesthetic makes La Vida especially eye-catching.

I mean, just look at those exposed beams! And shiplap exterior!

But considering the way the pandemic is going -- and the fact that relaxing in a real-life coffee shop seems to be stuff of fantasies right now -- the coffee shop is more than just pretty to look at. It's also kind of practical.

According to his Instagram page, Ed was inspired to turn his "love for coffee into a cozy spot I can relax in, in the comfort of my own home."-placeholder
According to his Instagram page, Ed was inspired to turn his "love for coffee into a cozy spot I can relax in, in the comfort of my own home."
Julianna Astrid/Twitter

According to his Instagram page, Ed was inspired to turn his "love for coffee into a cozy spot I can relax in, in the comfort of my own home."

"He's always liked warm, cozy places where people could gather," his daughter adds. "A place where he could bring family together."

Boy, did he hit all the right notes with it.

When he decided to build it, Ed's family was amused -- but not entirely surprised.

"Our family just laughed and was like ooook," Julianna tells CafeMom. "But then he actually started and this thing was finished within 3 months!!"

As a licensed contractor, Ed has built "a ton of other projects big and small," his daughter says. "But never a mini coffee shop!"

According to his daughter, Ed used scrap materials from other projects and worked in his spare time to get it done.-placeholder
According to his daughter, Ed used scrap materials from other projects and worked in his spare time to get it done.
Julianna Astrid

According to his daughter, Ed used scrap materials from other projects and worked in his spare time to get it done.

That meant mostly weekends or after work on weekdays, since he was still working full-time on jobs.

And, because Ed didn't have to pay for labor, the whole thing was definitely way less expensive than if he'd paid someone else to build it. In fact, Julianna estimates the project would have cost "roughly $30,000" to build for someone else.

Gulp.

On Twitter, people were seriously impressed by the dad's handiwork.

"Your dad is AWESOME," tweeted one person, in response to Julianna's post.

"I would volunteer barista in this coffee shop," added another. 

Some people were straight-up emotional about the whole thing.

"Omg see, now I'm crying," someone else wrote. "He's excited to be doing something he's passionate about, and I love to see it."

Julianna says the family has been loving La Vida so far, even though they can't really show it off to extended family or friends.

"Our immediate family has [enjoyed the coffee shop], but we haven't been able to have any other people or family over due to quarantine," she explains.

But something tells us that as soon as this pandemic ends, Ed's backyard coffee shop is gonna be hopping.

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