La La Land Kind Cafe

​Presented by the Hospitality and Travel Club (HTC), a student club at Harvard Business School.

​HTC is thrilled to welcome François Reihani, Founder and CEO of the beloved La La Land Kind Cafe, a hospitality brand that is redefining what a cafe can be by making kindness its North Star. We will explore François’s founder journey, the philosophy behind La La Land, how hospitality and purpose intersect, and what it takes to scale mission-aligned experiences without losing soul. 

​François launched La La Land Kind Café in Dallas in 2019 (along with the La La Land Foundation) with a vision to create a “dream world” where “joy, connection and compassion are served daily”. Each detail, from design to service, is intentional. The café has since grown to 24+ locations across five states and has raised significant investment to expand its mission-driven footprint (recently from Stripes, the growth equity firm behind Erewhon, Popup Bagels, Levain Bakery, and more). The Café also boasts a stacked Advisory Board with the likes of Brett Schulman (Co-Founder & CEO, CAVA) and Jonathan Neman (CEO, Sweetgreen). At its core, the La La Land brand exists not just to serve great coffee, but to normalize kindness and to provide paid employment, mentorship, and growth pathways for youth transitioning out of foster care.

​The conversation will be moderated by Karina Singhal (HBS MBA '26, Co-President of the Hospitality and Travel Club).