Every day for 18 years, the owner of J’s Cookies has worked 15 hour days, from 4am to 7pm. 

Attached to the Rosslyn Metro stop is the Rosslyn Center, an enclosed area with a handful of shops. One is a coffee shop, J’s Cookies, owned by In Jung. Originally from South Korea, Jung didn’t speak English, but he did know how to bake. 

He opened his shop 18 years ago, and he’s been there in Arlington ever since. Reviewers on Yelp call J’s a “mom and pop coffee shop,” but they’re mistaken. Jung is his business’ sole employee. 

He begins his morning baking bagels, cookies and pastries in a step by step process. An assembly line would be quicker, but he’s the only one here. Jung serves around 200 customers each day and knows that his proximity to the metro benefits his business. 

Between baking, running the cash register and preparing foods and drinks, Jung said his days are consumed with his shop. He gets the chance to sit down only on weekends, when a lack of commuter foot-traffic makes it better for his bottom line to close. But there he’ll be, back every Monday like clockwork.

J’s Cookies is located at 1700 N Moore St., Arlington, Va.