Like a big, delicious mocha with whipped cream on top, Kristy Young's dream needed several ingredients before she could live it.
"Making coffee is one of my favorite hobbies – and I always had a dream of owning my own coffee shop," the 31-year-old Rio Linda resident said.
By this spring, all the components toward her goal had percolated, except for the main one – money.
Lacking the funds to purchase a café, Young was astounded when her fiancé, Ron Anderson, stepped up in April and bought a Hawaiian-themed coffee shop for her, in Sacramento's Robla district.
Young was never happier than in early April, when she took over the Ohana Café at Rio Linda Boulevard and Main Avenue.
Two months later, on June 14, Anderson was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car on the Garden Highway near San Juan Road. The licensed contractor from Rio Linda was 40.
An investigation of the accident continues, according to the California Highway Patrol.
"I was overwhelmed by Ron's passing," Young said last week, during a break at the Ohana, which is developing a growing clientele.
"He knew how much the Ohana meant to me," she said, breaking into tears. "He wanted me to succeed."
Young, a former massage therapist, has worked as a barista at the Ohana Café since the day it opened in July 2007. The café's original owners were relatives.
With business slow, they chose to relinquish the Ohana this spring to focus on other pursuits, Young said.
"I was heartbroken," Young said. "The family had decided to close or sell the café."
After Young was urged by her boss to start looking for another job, she talked to Anderson.
"I told Ron I didn't want … another job," Young said. "So Ron said, 'Let's buy the Ohana, then.' "
The Ohana's owners "gave us a really good deal, because I was family and Ron was a good friend of theirs," Young said.
A week after taking over what is officially called the Ohana Coffee Co. & Books – it also sells used books – Young and Anderson enjoyed a Hawaiian vacation.
Upon her return, Young continued to prepare lattes, mochas and hot cocoa for Ohana guests. On weekends, Anderson worked on the Ohana, removing a back wall to expand the business to today's 900 square feet.
With its tiki masks, posters of Hawaiian beaches and tables covered by thatch-palm umbrellas, the Ohana's interior resembles an island paradise.
The café even has miniature potted palm trees, a 12-foot-tall lifeguard chair, white wooden beams flanked by colorful surfboards and soothing Hawaiian music pouring from overhead speakers.
Sitting at the Ohana, one expects Detective Steve McGarrett of "Hawaii Five-O" to walk in for a cool white mocha.
For Mary Ann Lujan, visiting the Ohana is "like taking a vacation in Hawaii."
"Kristy has brought some of Hawaii to Robla," said Lujan, Robla Park Community Association president.
"Kristy is developing a following. I like the Tazo Chai latte tea she prepares. From my observations, she's all about serving her customers."
One corner of the Ohana, just inside the front door, has a photo shrine honoring Anderson's memory.
"Every day, I remember Ron," Young said. " … I feel compelled to keep the café open. Failure is not an option for me."
Call The Bee's Edgar Sanchez, (916) 321-1088.
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