In October 2009, Sanjay Kumar, along with his wife Renu Arora, decided to put his culinary degree and great deal of global chef experience to use.
Adding to the list of Turlock’s hidden treasures is Kumar’s cafe, The Cottonwood. The cafe serves a variety of sandwiches, soups, hot breakfast meals, refreshing coffee drinks and offers electric outlets galore.
Kumar got his knack for the culinary arts while living in India.
“I lived in Europe, Japan, Asia, Thailand, Turkey and I was a chef over there. I learned a lot at Hotel Mariel in India,” Kumar said.
Influenced from his travels, Kumar was inspired to move to the United States and begin his entrepreneurship.
In California, the motivated chef found old town Oakdale where the first of his deli/coffeehouse resides in the eldest building in town. From that point, Kumar created locations in Modesto and Turlock.
When asked about the most popular item, Kumar couldn’t pick a fan favorite.
“In Oakdale, there’s a 15 minute wait for our tea bar. We have eight flavors and all of our tea comes straight from London and it’s all organic and unsweetened,” Kumar said.
Though, the fresh herbs don’t stop there. All of the food ingredients on the menu are all made from the hands of the talented Kumar.
Espresso drinks range from a freshly brewed hot coffee (which gets a free refill in the café) to a unique Zebra latte that is a mix of caramel and chocolate flavors.
Take that, Starbucks. 
When it comes to finals preparation, The Cottonwood is the place to go to escape crowded libraries and loud Starbucks lounges.
“For finals time, I’m going to have the place open 24/7 for two weeks for students to study. I’m going to bring in stools for more students to come do homework and there are already outlets everywhere in here,” Kumar said.
Along with that, the coffeehouse also offers Stan State students a free drink with every food purchase made. Students must show ID.
Luckily for college students, The Cottonwood offers pick-up orders. To get your food on time, it is encouraged to call an hour prior to pick-up.
For more information, go to The Cottonwood Facebook page. The Turlock café is located at 2014 W. Monte Visa Ave. and can be contacted at 209-250-2565 or at [email protected].