Moka Bros – the restaurant name rings familiar in every teenager’s ear in Beijing. It is a token for good music, healthy foods, and casual drinks. It can be a brunch hall, a dinner kitchen, or a midnight lounge. It’s the one place to go for all.
Moka Bros founded its first store in 2013 in Sanlitun. Now in 2022, it has eight locations across Beijing’s most vital malls: Solana, The Place, Joy City, Soho, and more. So what makes Moka Bros so uniquely popular? The founder Alex has a great story to tell.
Two things motivated Alex to create his iconic brand: health and affordable pricing. Not only did he want to promote healthy diets, but also a healthy lifestyle. This includes cheerful music, jokes on the wall, and menus filled with exercise motivation. They radiate positive “energy”, so that customers feel healthy instead of just eating, acting, or looking the part.
Moreover, everyone can be healthy, not just models and athletes. This is why Alex keeps things “at the right price”. Moka Bros does not offer VIP Pilate classes and private nutritionists, but rather affordable F&B: Ginger shots and vodka, smoothies and salads.
Alex also debunked another myth around healthy eating –– being “purists”. Some purists eat carrots, cucumbers, chicken breasts, and tofu every day, thinking that it’ll make them “pure” and “healthy”. But according to Alex, they are not healthy because never enjoy life to the fullest.
Instead, Alex promotes “eating with balance”. Eat a little bit of everything and eat “good food made with care”. Taste matters. If a dish is made with love, effort, and thought, it is worth tasting.
Alex picked Moka Bro’s Mexican Bowl as his favorite dish. Luckily, it also a favorite of many teenagers. Alex did not expect his restaurant to be a secret routine for middle and high school students. Instead, he laughed and said, “I created Moka Bros for everyone”. Teenagers on their first date, parents with children, business partners making meetings, entrepreneurs polishing their latest adventure, and so on. The emphasis is that all are welcome.
On top of having healthy delicious food and a great ambiance, Moka Bros also support many charities, most notably Operation Smile, a global charity dedicated to helping children with lip clefts. Alex wants to “help as much as he can [to]the community he is part of”. He prefers organizations that make “direct impact”. Something lofty does not help, so “as direct as possible” is the way to go.
Have you tried Moka Bros? If so, what is your favorite dish? Tell us below in the comments!
Images: Moka Bros, Dianping
