There’s a popular “coffee shack” at Doctors Hospital of Manteca that caters to staffers’ every wish and those of hospital visitors as well – as many as 80 customers in any given day.
It’s pretty much a family affair that has developed between Ali Movasch, a former restaurateur, and staff at the hospital and at the nearby medical offices.
Ali invites his customers to call or text him with their orders before they go on their breaks so their coffee and snacks are ready when they arrive so they don’t have to waste break time standing in line. He often makes deliveries to medics and office personnel when they can’t get away from their departments to go to his counter.
Before taking over the coffee shack a number of years ago, Ali operated Harding Way Floral in Stockton. After attaining a bachelor’s degree in biology from Fresno State with plans to attend medical school, he was sidelined into a lucrative series of restaurant businesses from San Diego to Ridgecrest in the High Desert.
“I love to be with people. I have to be with people all the time. People here are so nice – a big family,” he said.
Ali makes it his business to care about those customers he considers his friends, sincerely caring about whether they are having a good day or bad day. If he sees it’s bad, he does his best to improve the situation.
He said it was just last year when word got out to his customers about his birthday and a group of his patrons brought a cake and balloons.
“In the summer time it’s a lot more fun when we open the tent and they all sit at tables in the warm morning sun around the side,” he added.
The coffee shack is actually located just off the hospital’s main lobby and is covered with a tenting during the winter months.
One diehard follower named Ginger was there twice on Monday – once in the morning and again an hour after lunch. She said since moving to Hughson from Manteca, she has continued to start her day at Ali’s little coffee stop. She pointed out that Ali stands tall with his coffees and his service even above the favorite Starbucks.
Bernice Fields – an RN at Doctors – said Monday afternoon that if anyone has the pulse of the hospital community in his hands, it’s Ali. She said he is always willing to listen to his customers’ issues and has never been known to pass on any personal information. He truly cares about everyone, she added.
Hospital staffer Jackie Singh had nothing but good to say about the “coffee man” and her daily stops at lunch and break time. He was there for her too with his uplifting spirit when she had a tragic event occur in her family a few years ago.
Jocelyn Johnson who served her nursing internship at the Manteca hospital, chuckled that one reason she came back to DHM was because of Ali and his coffee shack. He even named her favorite coffee concoction after her, “The Jocelyn Special.” He says it’s a white chocolate, caramel mocha.
Tracee Reyes slipped in behind the counter recently and dropped her homemade waffles into his large toaster to go with her hot tea for a late 10-minute breakfast.
“He said putting milk in my tea ruins the tea, but he still complies,” she said.
Ali said he has but simple hobbies: walking, movies and being with friends. He added that his coffee bar at Doctors Hospital is all about being with friends and seeing that they are happy.
Reyes said she moved away from Manteca to the Paradise community going to work at Mercy San Juan in Carmichael four years ago. She returned to Doctors a year and a half ago and he still remembered what she likes as well as the names of the grandkids, she said.
It’s pretty much a family affair that has developed between Ali Movasch, a former restaurateur, and staff at the hospital and at the nearby medical offices.
Ali invites his customers to call or text him with their orders before they go on their breaks so their coffee and snacks are ready when they arrive so they don’t have to waste break time standing in line. He often makes deliveries to medics and office personnel when they can’t get away from their departments to go to his counter.
Before taking over the coffee shack a number of years ago, Ali operated Harding Way Floral in Stockton. After attaining a bachelor’s degree in biology from Fresno State with plans to attend medical school, he was sidelined into a lucrative series of restaurant businesses from San Diego to Ridgecrest in the High Desert.
“I love to be with people. I have to be with people all the time. People here are so nice – a big family,” he said.
Ali makes it his business to care about those customers he considers his friends, sincerely caring about whether they are having a good day or bad day. If he sees it’s bad, he does his best to improve the situation.
He said it was just last year when word got out to his customers about his birthday and a group of his patrons brought a cake and balloons.
“In the summer time it’s a lot more fun when we open the tent and they all sit at tables in the warm morning sun around the side,” he added.
The coffee shack is actually located just off the hospital’s main lobby and is covered with a tenting during the winter months.
One diehard follower named Ginger was there twice on Monday – once in the morning and again an hour after lunch. She said since moving to Hughson from Manteca, she has continued to start her day at Ali’s little coffee stop. She pointed out that Ali stands tall with his coffees and his service even above the favorite Starbucks.
Bernice Fields – an RN at Doctors – said Monday afternoon that if anyone has the pulse of the hospital community in his hands, it’s Ali. She said he is always willing to listen to his customers’ issues and has never been known to pass on any personal information. He truly cares about everyone, she added.
Hospital staffer Jackie Singh had nothing but good to say about the “coffee man” and her daily stops at lunch and break time. He was there for her too with his uplifting spirit when she had a tragic event occur in her family a few years ago.
Jocelyn Johnson who served her nursing internship at the Manteca hospital, chuckled that one reason she came back to DHM was because of Ali and his coffee shack. He even named her favorite coffee concoction after her, “The Jocelyn Special.” He says it’s a white chocolate, caramel mocha.
Tracee Reyes slipped in behind the counter recently and dropped her homemade waffles into his large toaster to go with her hot tea for a late 10-minute breakfast.
“He said putting milk in my tea ruins the tea, but he still complies,” she said.
Ali said he has but simple hobbies: walking, movies and being with friends. He added that his coffee bar at Doctors Hospital is all about being with friends and seeing that they are happy.
Reyes said she moved away from Manteca to the Paradise community going to work at Mercy San Juan in Carmichael four years ago. She returned to Doctors a year and a half ago and he still remembered what she likes as well as the names of the grandkids, she said.
