Udy Ikpa and his wife, Ehiy, opened Tribute Coffee House in Garden Grove in March 2017.
Born in Nigeria, Udy has been in Orange County for 35 years. He spent much of that time as an accountant. His wife was a media buyer. They had no experience running a coffee shop.
And yet, here they are, making custom coffee drinks and signature sandwiches at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue.
So why start the restaurant with no experience?
“I was an accountant, it’s the same routine, the same thing every month,” Udy explained.
“I got to a point where I had to do something different, something interacting with people. As an accountant I sat at a desk and stared at a screen and enter numbers. This is an opportunity to interact with people. This is something that is customer based.”
Udy said that because of that “big company” that popularized lattes, “we decided to see if we could join in with that trend. One of the things that drew us to our location is the drive-thru. It’s the Starbucks model.”
Drive-Thru Boost
Although Udy has a lot of people living near his coffee house, the bulk of his business is from people out of the area.
“Most people travel distances,” Udy said. “The businesses around here have suffered because of COVID. People travel 5 to 10 miles to come here.”
Why come that distance to Tribute Coffee? They serve breakfast foods including sandwiches on English muffin or bagels, and acai bowls, which Udy said is suddenly popular.
They also have an array of sandwiches (my chicken panini was excellent, with a tangy aioli).
As far as coffee, Tribute Coffee has several signature drinks: peanut butter mocha (which I ordered when I went to Tribute last week), honey lavender latte, crème brûlée latte, and Almond Joy latte.
And because of Tribute’s location, Udy said some of his customers love the horchata latte and tres leches, while others prefer the Vietnamese iced coffee and café bombon.
Udy said that while the COVID-19 restrictions have been frustrating, the drive-thru is his saving grace.
Contactless deliveries as well as Door Dash and Uber Eats delivery services have helped, but Udy noted that “it’s been hard. Hopefully 2021 will be much better.”
Tribute Coffee House: 13960 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, (714) 852-3005, tributecoffeehouse.com
