Jermaine Bantum x Triangle Coffee House

”Coffee shops are more than just places to grab a cup of coffee. It’s crazy it has been eight years owning this place. I have witnessed a lot of lives unfolding here at Triangle Coffee House. I’ve seen kids come in on their high school visit to Duke or UNC, next thing you know they are regulars, and then they come back to visit and introduce their husbands. An older couple used to come and meet here for their first few dates and now they are married. They will still pop in to say hi and thank you! You start a coffee shop thinking it’s about coffee, but it’s really about people and that’s what I love.

Before owning this coffee shop, I was working in corporate America, the typical 9-5 grind. But spending time here, seeing the sense of community it fostered, made me want to jump in, be a part of it, and pay it forward. I wanted to keep it going. This isn’t just a special place to me; it holds a lot of small, but special, moments for a lot of people. It’s where coffee is had, connections are made, and lives are intertwined.

I own the place, but I work as the barista all the time. If you’ve been here, odds are I was serving you, so come by, say hi, have a coffee, do some work, meet a friend, go on a coffee-date, and enjoy. This is a place for gathering. That is what this life is all about”

— Jermaine Bantum
Owner: Triangle Coffee House @trianglecoffeehouse.

Photographed + Interviewed by: Jordan Abdur-Ra’oof @shotbyjbot

Location: Triangle Coffee House - University Hill. Durham, NC.