Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

SPECIAL! | PART 1 Coffee Fest LA! 2024 w/ Shanita Nicholas of Sip and Sonder + Elisa Hoyos and Leo Abularach of Picaresca Barra de Cafe

Sep 13, 2024

Shanita Nichols, co-founder of the innovative Sip & Sonder, along with Elisa Hoyos and Leo Abularach of Picaresca Barra de Cafe, dive into the transformative power of coffee culture. They share their inspiring journeys from law professionals to coffee entrepreneurs, emphasizing community engagement and storytelling. Discover how Sip & Sonder creates a welcoming hub, and how Picaresca thrives despite challenges. Their commitment to quality and creativity highlights a revolutionary shift in coffee shops as places of connection and support.

51:36

Creator website

Episode guests

Shanita Nichols

Elisa Hoyos

Leo Abularach

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Sip and Sonder emphasizes storytelling and community connection, centering Black experiences to empower and engage local stakeholders in coffee production.

Pica Resca focuses on building customer relationships through genuine hospitality and innovative marketing strategies, enhancing community connection while navigating business challenges.

Deep dives

Cultural Connection in Coffee Shops

Coffee shops like Sip and Sonder and Pica Resca aim to redefine the coffee experience by integrating cultural narratives and community engagement into their operations. Sip and Sonder focuses on centering Black experiences and telling the stories of stakeholders in coffee production, reflecting on how their backgrounds inform their business approach. The founders, Shanita Nichols and Amanda Jane Thomas, envisioned their café as a space for empowerment and community connection, recognizing the need for such environments in underserved areas. Pica Resca, spearheaded by Leo and Elisa, also emphasizes local culture by offering signature drinks that resonate with their Boyle Heights community, showcasing the rich heritage behind their offerings.

Intro

2min

Brewing Community: Coffee's Role in Connectivity

12min

From Enthusiast to Roaster: The Coffee Journey

7min

Navigating the Journey of Coffee Entrepreneurship

4min

Inspiring Community Engagement Through Coffee

3min

Building Community Through Coffee

21min

Celebrating Community and Quality in Coffee at Picaresca

3min

Welcome to Part 1 of this special Coffee Fest live on the show floor episode! Interviews from Los Angeles 2024!

Los Angeles was so amazing and we got to sit down with 4 amazing coffee professionals who were presenting at this show.

Today we will be focusing on what amounts to a couple of mini-Founder Fridays with 2 cafe owners in the LA area providing ground breaking spaces and service!

Shanita Nicholas

While practicing law at the same law firm, Amanda-Jane Thomas and Shanita Nicholas became friends. Eventually, the two women also became business partners, their dreams and passions converging into the creation of Sip & Sonder.

Shanita’s law practice has focused on general corporate start-up and venture capital financing work. She holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science and a J.D./M.B.A. from Columbia Law and Business Schools. She became a Certified Q Grader for Arabica Coffee summer 2023.

Established in 2017 in Inglewood, CA, Sip & Sonder is a global Black women-owned coffee brand with a portfolio of coffeehouses, a coffee roastery, and digital content spaces.

Link:

www.sipandsonder.com

Elisa Hoyos and Leo Abularch

Picaresca Barra de Cafe opened its doors inside of a mini mall complex located on the far south corner of Boyle Heights right in the middle of the pandemic. Their journey began in an unlikely place, hidden, with no visibility and minimal foot traffic, but they managed to stay afloat. '

Today they occupy a larger space with a full kitchen and an off site roasting operation providing world class hospitality and service to their beautifully diverse neighborhood in Boyle Heights.

Their coffee is truly some of the best in the city and I am thrilled to get to sit down with Leo and Elisa to talk about their journey.

https://www.barrapicaresca.com/

Related episodes:

Sponsor:

www.coffeefest.com

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