Campus to Cafe
At the Saffron Café in Manayunk, Smit Patel ’25 serves up specialty coffees, traditional Indian food, and a warm sense of community.
Born and raised in Gujarat, India, Patel says his upbringing gave him a deep appreciation for hospitality, kinship, and food. He and his childhood friend and business partner Ojas Patel (no relation) opened the café in May 2026 with the hopes of creating a welcoming place that brings people together.
“We want Saffron Café to become a place where people connect, study, work, meet friends, and experience something new,” Smit Patel says. “If someone leaves with a smile, discovers a new favorite drink, or learns something about Indian culture, then we’ve accomplished what we set out to do.”
He didn’t set out to be a restaurateur. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Management at Jefferson and works full time as a global lead for a large financial institution based in New York.
Patel says he was drawn to Jefferson for its close-knit community, small class sizes, and endless chances to get involved. While there, he had the opportunity “to learn from incredible professors who genuinely cared about helping students succeed, both academically and professionally.”
It was the lessons his professors taught in the classroom that encouraged him to think beyond the classroom.
“Many of my professors encouraged us to apply what we learned to real-world situations, and that mindset gave me the confidence to take calculated risks ...”
“[They] taught me to approach problems from both a financial and entrepreneurial perspective. Many of my professors encouraged us to apply what we learned mindset gave me the confidence to take calculated risks,” Patel says. “The business knowledge I gained — from financial planning to management — has been invaluable in building and operating Saffron Café.”
The idea for the cafe began during his days at Jefferson, where he started whipping up Indian food to sell to his fellow students from his apartment kitchen.
“I noticed there weren’t many late-night food options around campus, so I began making Indian-inspired rice bowls for friends and classmates. Word spread pretty quickly through campus, and before long I was serving dozens of students,” he says. “It ended up being a great learning experience in entrepreneurship, customer service, and operations, and in many ways it planted the seed for what eventually became Saffron Café.”
That seed took root when also he noticed that there weren’t many cafés that blended high-quality specialty coffee with Indian flavors and culture. After graduating from Jefferson, Patel began traveling for work and noticed something else.
“I visited cafés around the world and realized how much a café can become a community gathering space, not just somewhere to grab coffee,” he says.
He took those worldwide experiences, combined them with an entrepreneurial mindset, and brought them back to home where he was determined to create something unique — a place where people could experience Indian-inspired drinks and food in a modern café environment.
He brought the idea to his friend, and together they turned that vision into a reality.
Patel says running the restaurant while working full time in the finance industry is definitely busy, but not overwhelming because of the teachings of his guru, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj. The key is having the right priorities.
“One lesson that has always stayed with me comes from my guru, who teaches the importance of balance and using your time wisely. He emphasizes that if you stay disciplined, organized, and focused on serving others, you can manage multiple responsibilities without losing sight of what matters,” Patel says.
That means planning the days carefully, trusting his team, “and making sure that whatever I’m doing — whether it’s finance or the café — I’m fully present in that moment.”
Patel says he’s incredibly excited about the future. He is constantly thinking of ways to expand the menu, create new drinks, and make the café even more of a community destination that welcomes one and all.
“I would tell people to come in with an open mind. Even if you’ve never tried Indian flavors before, I promise you’ll find something you’ll love. It’s more than just coffee — it’s an experience, and we can’t wait to share it with you!”
Saffron Café is at 4331 Main St., Manayunk.
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