Building Coffee Culture from the Ground Up
Before Rêve became a six-location café brand and trusted roaster across Louisiana, it began as a single, curious impulse: to help people open better coffee shops. Nathaneal first started roasting when he saw a need for coffee culture across the state. He hoped to open shops of himself as well as help other aspiring cafe owners to get a start of their own. There were few resources in Louisiana for independent café owners, and even fewer who understood the nuances of specialty coffee. Roasting, he realized, could be the bridge: a way to meet new people, start conversations, and offer both product and mentorship. That simple desire to share knowledge and elevate a craft grew into a network of cafés built around community, intention, and creativity.
At Rêve, coffee is a creative medium of expression, a blank canvas for ambitious baristas. The team hosts seasonal drink competitions where staff pitch and prototype their most creative ideas, from house-made root beer espresso floats to cereal-topped lattes. The winners make it onto the real menu, giving customers something unexpected and giving baristas a stake in the space. The result is a culture rooted in originality and care. Customers return not just for the pastry made in-house or the intentionally sourced espresso, but for the kind of experience that feels handcrafted, start to finish. For Nathaneal, that’s the heartbeat of it all—cultivating a workplace where his team thrives, and a café where every small detail feels personal.
"Our whole idea is just to create an experience... from the colors that we pick on the wall to the type of cups that you hold in your hand."
Designing for Real Human Connection
The atmosphere at Rêve is carefully designed to invite people to stay. From music selection to seating flow, everything is curated with purpose. Customers know they’ll walk into a welcoming space, have a meaningful interaction, and leave with a drink that likely doesn’t exist anywhere else.
"Customers that come to our location come with the understanding that they’ll have an experience, that they’ll have a great cup, and they’ll have a great conversation."
Even the drink menu is an evolving expression of the baristas who craft it. With every seasonal shift, a new lineup of drinks appears—each developed, tested, and refined by the team. The result is a menu that feels both innovative and deeply local.
Nathaneal emphasizes the importance of making the experience feel personal. While navigating the logistics and the weeds of starting a small business is the most difficult, he ensures that each experience is curated and special by choosing systems that feel intuitive.
"...Making sure that we have the foundation, but we also want to have that small business personal touch to it."
Thoughtfully Built, Intentionally Grown
From the beginning, each of Rêve's new location was approached as an elevation of the surrounding neighborhood. For Nathaneal, opening a shop was never just about expanding footprint, but about offering something to the area that didn’t exist before.
"Anytime that we go into a new location, it has to elevate that area... it's not just about planting a coffee shop, but being part of the change in that area."
Behind the scenes, systems and culture carry equal weight. One of the most important internal values at Rêve is captured in a simple acronym: CUP. Creativity. Unity. Passion. This mantra shapes everything from the hiring process, to team dynamics, and defines what kind of energy makes it behind the bar.
When asked about his favorite part of running a coffee shop, Nathaneal answers without hesitation: cultivating a great workspace for his team. That means flawless communication and execution – all factors that he prioritized in every aspect of his business — including his POS system.
A POS System That Mirrors Their Intentionality
When it came time to choose a point-of-sale system that could grow with their vision, Nathaneal looked for something built specifically for cafés.
"All the other systems were piecemealing coffee shops. Dripos was the first one that focused entirely on what we actually needed."
With six locations to manage and a growing roasting operation, ease of use and consistency became non-negotiables. Dripos stood out because of how seamlessly it fit into their operations—from checkout flows to customer experience, inventory to gift card transitions.
"The way Dripos integrates gift cards from the previous POS system made the transition a lot easier. That was a huge win for us."
Rêve also recently launched their own branded app through Dripos, which has been a major hit among regulars. Loyalty and tipping features have integrated smoothly, and while there are still features left to explore, Nathaneal sees the potential to deepen that customer connection even further.
"The app has been a great tool for us... and our customers are excited about it."
What’s Next for Rêve
Looking ahead, Rêve plans to double down on what they already do best: make everything in-house, continue developing their roasting arm, and support new partners who share their vision. New locations may be on the horizon, but the focus remains unchanged: thoughtful hospitality, empowered teams, and a customer experience that feels intimate, personal, and full of care.
"We don’t want to be a faceless company. It’s about our team, our customers, and our commitment to showing up—creatively, passionately, and together."
