Café Coffee Day patrons get nostalgic on social media...

Following the death of its founder VG Siddhartha, many users took to social media to express disbelief and share stories...

Cafe Coffee Day's Founder VG Siddhartha was reported missing since July 29. NDTV reported that he was last seen on the bridge over the Netravati river and on July 31, his body was found by fishermen from Hoige Bazaar, not too far from the mouth of the river. News agency ANI published a copy of the letter Siddhartha wrote along with an enclosed list of his assets. In the letter, he stated that he had failed as an entrepreneur.

Founder & owner, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), #VGSiddhartha's letter to employees and board of directors of CCD, states, "Every financial transaction is my responsibility...the law should hold me & only me accountable."; He has gone missing from Mangaluru, search operation underway. pic.twitter.com/0GJc5vmvYt

— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2019

The truth is, Siddhartha was far from a failure. With Cafe Coffee Day, he brought the culture of cafes to India. While researching the brand, we hit upon the revelation that in India, before the advent of WeWork or 91Springboard, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) unintentionally became the first of its kind, co-working space in the country. It was a space that didn't penalise customers who would spend long periods of time there, allowed them internet access and the beverages and snacks served may not have always been pocket-friendly, but this never deterred patrons.

Today we remember the legend that inspired us all. Thank you Chairman VG Siddhartha for your vision, leadership and the great legacy. pic.twitter.com/tYMiglgofe

— Cafe Coffee Day (@CafeCoffeeDay) July 31, 2019

ALSO READ: "Conversation is the main product at Café Coffee Day": K Ramakrishnan, CCD

On Twitter, when #RIPSiddhartha began trending, many users pitched in with posts that expressed their shock and disbelief at the death of CCD's founder. There were stories of friends, memories of past lovers and present spouses and interestingly, quite a few businessmen, journalists and start-up founders who took to the medium to talk about how CCD affected their businesses and their lives.

As a mark of respect, Cafe Coffee Day changed their logo on their social channels from red and white to greyscale. Outlets across India remained shut for the day as a sign of mourning.

Truth to be told, while in college, we bunch of 4 nobodies wrote our first business plan on a Napkin at #CafeCoffeeDay for raising the first round of funding for @innoz #VGSiddhartha @CafeCoffeeDay #Entrepreneurship Thank you sir #RIPSiddhartha

— Deepak Ravindran (@deepakravindran) July 31, 2019

A lot has happened over coffee!

Every 90's kid will know this! CCD acted like an incubator for startups alike! #RIP Siddhartha and Thank you for the bond your coffee created, the friends we met and the memories we made. #CafeCoffeeDay pic.twitter.com/2uWY3q5K3l

— Avlokita | Urdu: آولوکٹا | Arabic: فلقيت (@AvlokitaShah) July 31, 2019

"I have failed" says the man who gave us all the memories in Coffee Day.

My favorite memory of Coffee Day was taking my mom there when I could afford to buy her coffee with my first pay from my @airnewsalerts job ( Barton centre blr)

Tell me your #CCD memory. #vgsiddharth https://t.co/Dt6pKJpKPY

— Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) July 30, 2019

Have done numerous interviews at CCD and that only helped me better my skills as a journalist. Chat over coffees are always a good option.
Also, a conversation at CCD with a friend helped me choose a better job, that I am at now!#MyCCDStory #CoworkingAtCCD #CafeCoffeeDay

— sana farzeen (@SanaFarzeen) July 31, 2019

I got two of the biggest stories of my career at a #CCD outlet. Yes, a lot did happen over coffee. #RIPSiddhartha

— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) July 31, 2019

We had put out a call for stories and anecdotes on afaqs!’ social media handles. Here are some of the responses we got.