While some people have a love affair with coffee, Morgan Hill resident Nick Langone and Gilroy High School alumna Brianna Holladay have a love story that blossomed over cups of coffee – thousands of them.
Langone, 33, was Mr. “Iced venti double shot, sugar free vanilla nonfat milk, three Sweet’N Lows,” smiles Holladay, 25, his former barista at Starbucks.
“He gets strong coffee,” recalled Holladay, as she sat with her fiancé in the Morgan Hill shop where they first met. “Before you know someone’s name, you usually know their coffee.”
For at least five months in 2010, Langone was one of Holladay’s frequent customers who stopped by the coffee shop off East Dunne Avenue for a jolt of caffeine. Her future fiance was always looking “super matchy” in a formal suit, Holladay recalls. He stopped by the coffee shop before, after and during work while he worked as a Sales Manager for Cintas, a company that provides uniforms, mats and cleaning supplies to companies throughout North America.
The barista and her frequent customer always exchanged smiles, cheerful “hellos” and “goodbyes,” until one day in August, when Langone mustered the courage to ask Holladay out. She said yes, first to a dinner date and video arcade games – and three and a half years later – to marriage.
The couple got engaged last February at the Florida Disney World – a place that was on Holladay’s bucket list.
“I’d never been to Disney World before,” said the self-described Peter Pan aficionado. “It was pretty romantic.”
And while Holladay had originally imagined a wedding at Disneyland, she settled on a more grownup venue at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. She warmed up to the idea of a winery wedding after Langone introduced her to the wonderful world of wine tasting.
“One of the big things I started doing with him was wine tasting,” she said. “It’s definitely acquired.”
The pair will say “I do” March 21 in front of roughly 100 attendees, including two former baristas of the Morgan Hill location where Holladay used to work. One of them, Leah Press, is flying in from Boston to be a bridesmaid. The other, Marie Lawson, now lives just down the street from the couple’s house in Morgan Hill.
Reflecting back to before they started dating, Holladay recalls that it wasn’t until after Langone walked into Starbucks unshaven the morning after a bachelor’s party with the boys at Lake Havasu, that she took a second glance – and liked what she saw.
“He looked a little more scruffy and approachable,” she said with a smile.
It’s that same winning smile that first drew in Langone.
“Her smile, that was probably the biggest thing,” he said, remembering what he first noticed about his fiancée. “(And) her bubbly personality.”
Shortly thereafter, one of Holladay’s fellow baristas decided to play matchmaker, and suggested Langone ask Holladay out on a date. The subtle shot of encouragement proved to be the confidence boost Langone needed to make a first move he had already been planning.
At Starbucks, employees make “spins” of the store – walking the area and wiping up counters every 10 to 15 minutes. In late July, Langone made a point to be standing by when it was Holladay’s turn.
She said yes to the date, and her fellow baristas subsequently showered her with advice – giving counsel on what to order (nothing messy) and numbers to call if he was a creep.
“It’s mostly girls at Starbucks, so it’s kind of like a sorority,” Holladay said.
When the pair went out to dinner at Dave and Buster’s in Milpitas, Holladay recalls being preoccupied with the advice doled out to her by colleagues, which in turn just made her “really nervous.”
“Yeah, you weren’t very talkative,” Langone added.
Finally, Holladay – a natural extrovert – broke the ice and started to open up.
Langone is a third generation Italian and will be sharing his family heritage with Holladay when they head to Italy in April for their honeymoon. Holladay studied abroad in Spain and is hoping her passable Spanish will get her by, as the romance languages share some roots. The couple doesn’t speak Italian, however, so “it will be interesting,” Holladay said.
Langone’s family had a well-established meat-cutting business in San Jose for many years, so Italian heritage was a topic of conversation when Langone met Holladay’s father on their third date.
As it turns out, Holladay and Langone’s fathers had previously worked together as meat cutters at a local Safeway.
Langone’s father, who shares his son’s name, passed away about four months before the couple started dating.
Holladay never got a chance to have a heart-to-heart with her future father-in-law, but she did know him unofficially by his “drink name” – “grande coffee, no room,” recalls Holladay, who was also his barista.
Today, Holladay works at K-Force – a professional staffing company with a branch in San Jose. But she’ll always hold Starbucks in a special light. After all, it brought Holladay and her soon-to-be husband together.
As for their thoughts on their coffee shop love story: “It’s better than a match.com story,” Langone said.
