When customers walk into Hagosa’s House, they are greeted by the aroma of coffee, a case full of pastries, and owner Feaven Berhe ’14.
Located on Delridge Way in West Seattle, Hagosa’s House opened in February 2025. Feaven — who started at Lakeside in 7th grade and currently serves on the Alum Board — had always planned on owning a business, but she never imagined it would happen so soon, just 11 years after graduating from Lakeside.
“My parents bought this space almost 15 years ago. And I guess their dream was always to open up their own space, but they never got around to it. And so my dad presented me with the opportunity like a year ago,” she said. “We spent a lot of time renovating the space and [I spent time] just getting all the licenses and figuring out what I need to do.”
Luckily, attending Lakeside helped prepare her for those renovations. “Shoutout to Theater Production with [Al] Snapp…I think that exposure early on definitely put me in a mindset of, ‘I can build, cut, you know, screw anything in together,’” she said.
Besides taking theater prod her senior fall, Feaven spent her time at Lakeside leading the Black Student Union; participating in track, soccer, and volleyball; managing the girls basketball team; and studying abroad in Italy her junior year. Surprisingly, however, she didn’t drink coffee in high school. She only began to do so when she needed a boost to propel her through finals at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, where she studied math and engineering management.
“I have an appreciation for coffee. But I think more than just like, ‘Oh, I love coffee so I’ve opened up a coffee shop,’ it’s more like, ‘I love people and I know people like coffee…,’” she said.
At SMU, Feaven participated in “Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation” (SMART), a Department of Defense scholarship-for-service program; in exchange for the DOD paying her tuition and providing her with other benefits, Feaven agreed to work in defense after graduation.
She earned a master’s in operations research and worked for the U.S. Army, aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, and in consulting at Deloitte before transitioning to running Hagosa’s House full-time. In a corporate job, she said, “you know what the bounds are. But then this, it’s like, ‘We ran out of milk. Oh my gosh.’”
Despite the challenges of running a business, Feaven feels that the West Seattle community has embraced the shop.
Feaven’s parents immigrated to the United States from Eritrea, and the cafe is inspired by her heritage. She chose to name the shop after her grandmother, Hagosa, meaning “joy,” because, in Eritrea, traditional naming practices don’t include inherited family surnames. When her parents came here, they adopted her grandfather’s first name as their family’s surname, so she wanted to honor her grandmother with the shop’s name. On some Saturdays, Feaven’s mom hosts Eritrean coffee ceremonies, roasting and grinding the beans before placing them in a clay pot called a jebena.
“There’s blessings and there’s love and there’s all this stuff that goes into it. But it’s also — because the process is so long — it’s that time that’s spent together that’s also super important,” Feaven said.
In the future, Feaven hopes to host more community events like game nights or a book club, as well as debut special menu items (perhaps a pumpkin spice latte).
“For me, the space is about people and community,” she said. “I feel like there’s something about where we are today which… sometimes it feels disjointed or very transactional. So having a space where people can come and hang out and [is] a center of community is one of my goals…”
In addition to West Seattle residents, Lakesiders have shown support for Hagosa’s House, including some of Feaven’s former classmates and LEEP Director, Family Support and Rainier Scholars Liaison, Upper School Student Equity Programs Coordinator, and Advisor Latasia Lanier.
“ I’m always excited to know what alumni are doing next so we can continue to support,” said Ms. Lanier, who has visited Hagosa’s House several times and is planning to brainstorm events Lakeside can host at the cafe. “Feaven will find anyone in a crowd and make a connection with anyone. Always just the life of the room. Such a great sense of humor.”
If any Lakesiders stop by, they can try Feaven’s favorite menu items: the ginger molasses cookie and an oat milk salted caramel latte. And, they might receive some words of wisdom, like the ones Feaven offered when asked what advice she has for current students.
“…[Lakeside lets] you do whatever you want, you know what I mean? They create an opportunity for you to question the system and voice your opinion and be yourself, whereas a lot of places don’t always acknowledge young voices… lean into that, make sure you take advantage of every opportunity that they provide you and create your own…”
And, she added, “the alum network is very much present and people have love for each other, you know? So it really doesn’t stop at graduation. It goes on.”
“Shoutout to the community ‘cause I’m already touched.”
