“It started as a hot chocolate pop-up,” she said. “I was super happy with the turnout and honestly, I was having fun. It really didn’t feel like I was working because I was doing something that I like to do.”

After returning from spring break, she made a Reel on the shop’s Instagram page(@metro_espresso), giving a quick run-through of her morning routine running the business, before going about her day. What she didn’t know was that a simple ‘day in the life’ video would blow up overnight and put all of A&T onto her coffee.

The viral reel, which had actually remained in her drafts for almost two weeks before being posted, was something she was hesitant to put out at all. Since then, it has amassed nearly 900,000 views, over 4,500 followers in a week and the attention of thousands across the country.

“It’s been super crazy and I’ve been super blessed,” she said. “The week that video blew up, some days were super slow, some days I had a good amount of people. Some days I had one customer, [another] I’d have 10 or 12, and I was just trying to make enough money to eat off of.”

With the rise in attention both on social media and in person, she has expressed her gratitude, but sometimes has mixed feelings about the changes that come with the visibility.

“It’s just weird being noticed, I guess, because I’m a new student still,” she said. “I am really just happy that now when I open, I know someone’s going to come.”

Her inspiration for the name ‘Metro Espresso’ came from her affinity for Washington D.C.’s Metro public transportation system, and a play on words with the shop’s coffee-centred theme.

Zachary eagerly thanked the many students, parents and alumni supporters who have uplifted her progression through buying products as well as online donations.

“I can’t wait to be an alum and give back to the university that has invested in me.”

“To the students, thank you for coming to visit me and supporting my shop and bringing your friends,” she said. “I’ve had friends, like my friends in my life, say my mom just sent me your page.”

She also made sure to give a special shoutout to a certain office on campus for all of their help getting product supplies to campus.

“Thank you to the mail center. Ms. Taylor, that’s my girl for real,” she said. “I really appreciate her, because I don’t have a car, so I am usually at the mail center getting anything that I need. Really, just thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Zachary has plans to bring the business to D.C. for the summer and hinted at implementing a coffee cart on campus in the fall to make her brews mobile. The sky is the limit for the future of the Metro Espresso and for Zachary’s entrepreneurial journey.