Teacher Opens Coffee Shop in Perm, Still Teaches

Until November last year, the life of Perm resident Yulia Okulova was straightforward — 19 of her 43 years were dedicated to children, teaching them English. But in recent years, Yulia began to think it was time to try something new. So the Perm woman opened a coffee shop in the city center. But she didn«t abandon teaching — she still conducts lessons in the first half of the day.

Before launching the business, the life of our heroine was always connected with creativity and education. Back in her youth, she graduated from an art school, but never worked in her profession — she just painted pictures to switch gears. Later she received a higher pedagogical education.

At first, Yulia was a kindergarten teacher, then taught in elementary school. Later she taught middle school, then high school. In parallel, she studied to be a translator, but after working, she quickly realized that working with documents didn«t suit her.

«Yulia, you»ve always been interested in everything,« Yulia Okulova recalls her parents» words. Our interviewee laughs, saying she sometimes explains this by her character — or even by being born under the sign of Gemini. When one goal is achieved, she immediately needs to come up with something else.

Yulia tried her hand in tourism, attempting to combine teaching with work at a travel agency. Knowledge of English allowed this, but it quickly became clear that both pursuits require full dedication.

In her new search, Yulia was supported by her husband, family members, and friends. They believe you just need to take the plunge and try. Gradually, Yulia came to the idea of having her own establishment.

«To be honest, I love eating delicious food,» our interviewee laughs. «I love very beautiful places. We have so many good establishments in our city. And I really wanted my own. My husband and I even thought about a small restaurant business, but we»re far from that yet. We tried to open a café, but it didn«t work out. To engage in the restaurant business, I need to be 100% here. But I can»t leave the kids I still have at school.«

But everything worked out with the coffee shop: on November 1, 2025, Yulia officially became the owner of «Coffee Shop on Sibirskaya,» located in the Chekists« House. She and her husband bought an already existing business — with equipment, interior, and staff.

Yulia herself took charge of suppliers, the kitchen, organizing processes, and changing the space. Together with the team, they washed the entire premises and partially renovated. Yulia purchased new equipment and began changing the space: new curtains appeared, handmade interior items, and works by Perm artisans. The concept of the establishment became the history of the city.

Yulia recalls that the choice of concept was influenced by the words of an acquaintance from Yekaterinburg. She told the businesswoman that Perm was a village. «No. My city is not a village. You just don»t know it,« says Yulia Okulova.

«Every summer I definitely go on city tours. It»s very interesting. You know, when I met with my staff and started telling them about this building, this street, our city, everyone sat and listened as if no one lives in this city.«

On the shelves of the coffee shop on Sibirskaya, you can see works by Valery Nekrasov — the father of Yulia«s colleague at school, who makes models of landmarks. On the wall, they made an inscription »Europe begins with Perm« — the words of writer Nina Gorlanova. The Writers» Union is nearby, so Perm authors have already started coming here. The coffee shop also hosts master classes by local artists.

Menu items related to the history of the Chekists« House and Perm have appeared: for example, »Window to Thirty-Two« — in honor of the building built in 1932, »Tower Peak,« and »Sunrise over the Kama.«

«I can say that everything I had, all the savings I had, I invested here,» Yulia says when we ask about investments in the business. «We also recently started working with a marketer, but I hope the coffee shop will pay off within a year. Maybe after the New Year there will be some result from my work...»

In parallel, a new team began to form — graduates of School No. 32 and young students who also found it interesting to work.

«This is not my coffee shop — it»s ours. A lot has been invested by the people who work here,« says Yulia Okulova.

Yulia says it«s important to her that people feel part of a common cause in the coffee shop, so she tries to understand each team member»s profession herself. She has already practiced as a barista, waitress, and kitchen worker. For the team, Yulia sometimes cooks home-cooked lunches. If there«s absolutely no time — she buys pizza.

To develop her first business, the English teacher had to overcome her fear of the camera. Yes, for almost 20 years she has been performing in front of classes daily, and if she needs to urgently substitute for a colleague, she just opens the textbook — the lesson would come together on its own. But filming for the coffee shop«s social media pages became a challenge. She was genuinely surprised when she heard from us that on camera she looks very natural and the shot comes out on the first take.

«No, of course not on the first take. It»s an illusion. It«s the operator»s work,« Yulia laughs.

At first, she managed the coffee shop«s social media pages herself. Later, a marketer joined. The team started shooting videos, talking about drinks, the interior, and the life of the coffee shop.

One video about the coffee shop quickly gained tens of thousands of views. Along with them came dozens of comments. Many viewers discussed not the establishment but Yulia«s accidental slip — she was nervous in front of the camera and said »delicious coffee« with incorrect grammar. She recalls that she took the criticism hard.

Today Yulia continues to work at Perm School No. 32 named after G. A. Sborshchikov. She teaches English and is already thinking about the future 10th grade, which she hopes to take as a homeroom teacher. Last academic year, she graduated 9th graders.

«I definitely won»t leave my kids in the middle of the year. Even if it«s very hard — I»ll see it through to the end of the year. They asked me about this too,« says Yulia Okulova.

She admits that she wants to one day start devoting more time to the coffee shop, but for now she can«t just close the school door behind her. Yulia is close with her students — at school, they were the first to learn that she is now not only a teacher but also a businesswoman. After that, the children began asking the main question on their minds: would she now leave the school? The answer was short — no.

Managing two unrelated pursuits is not easy, Yulia admitted to us. But the first months were especially hard — both physically and morally. In such moments, she was supported by the example of her own graduates, who once opened a coffee shop while studying.

«If they could combine studies, work, and developing their own project, then I can too,» Yulia reasoned with herself on difficult days.

In summer, during school holidays, Yulia finds time to ride a bike, walk her dog, which already knows the way to the coffee shop (the establishment is dog-friendly), meet friends, or read a book.

Our heroine still comes to the coffee shop daily. She says she will stop only when she can fully entrust it to others. And she already has people in mind.

Yulia is already thinking about the future — she wants to develop the breakfast format, expand the menu, and devote more time to the establishment itself. She consults with friends from the restaurant industry on these matters.