Photo contributed | After escaping the Portland tech industry, Raj and Nishi Gautham relocated to Fresno. They had no connections here, instead connecting with each other over family coffee dates. That led to a business idea.

A local couple took a family activity and built it into a business after escaping their tech jobs in Oregon.

They sought somewhere sunny, and ended up opening a coffee and boba shop in Fresno.

Raj and Nishi Gautham opened Supri four months ago at Copper and Maple avenues. After Raj invested in a jobs board startup that didn’t work out, the married couple moved from Portland, Oregon, to Fresno in 2020 for a brighter opportunity.

“Look at Portland, where it’s always gloomy, rainy and all that stuff. That’s when I told my wife, ‘you know, you want a fresh start, start from scratch, let’s move out of here,’” Raj Gautham said.

They moved here to an uncertain future. They had no family or connections in the Valley, and weren’t sure of their next move. The couple began having coffee every morning together. This became a routine — an opportunity to chat about life, wondering if they made the correct choice about moving and what would be happening next.

“Me and my wife started connecting a lot over coffee in the mornings, which we never did that back in Portland with our busy schedules,” Raj Gautham said

Raj and Nishi have been married for 18 years in a union arranged by their families. Together, they have two children, a 10-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter. When the family would go out for coffee, their kids wanted boba instead, so they always went to two different locations to accommodate everyone.

This started the idea of a space where families could come together, with adults and kids both having beverage options. The environment would be welcoming.

“You know, 80 to 90% of our customers are families. Our friends. Just like us. They come in here and all the tables and chairs are filled,” Raj Gautham said.

The couple were inspired by Nishi’s nickname, Supriya, which means the nature of a person who is happy or joyful. This also inspired the naming of the sizes of drinks. Instead of medium or large, they wanted something more meaningful. So, you can order a size “Joy,” a medium or “Bliss,” a large.

The cafe runs on this motto from their website, “At Supri, we serve more than drinks. we serve time well spent. Step in, sip slow, and savor the moments that matter.”

Raj and Nishi Gautham put in a lot of research into their recipes and products. They have partnered with Suavie Island Coffee, a woman-owned coffee bean business in Portland; and JC Coffee Farms, a family business in Seattle, Washington that receives their beans from Brazil. Their milk is from Producers Dairy, a local business that was rooted in Fresno.

The couple also said they don’t believe in food coloring or fake syrups, and that even if it is not cost effective for them, they want to offer only premium quality ingredients.

“So basically we just want to live in the moment you can enjoy with your friends or family, whoever you’re here with to create those memories,” Raj Gautham said.