Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandy and Derek Davis.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My family is from Puerto Rico, and as I grew up I began to understand that – as in many cultures and families – coffee was an essential piece of our bonding time. I grew up spending summers in Puerto Rico with my grandparents, always starting the day dunking a huge loaf of buttered bread into piping hot coffee while we sat together, sometimes talking, and sometimes in silence. Well in July 2017, my grandfather passed away and myself, my husband, and our two children went to see him in Florida just before his passing. During that time, my husband and I briefly visited a cafe with in-house coffee roasting and even whiskey cocktails in the evening. As an avid coffee-lover himself, this sparked an idea. A few weeks after arriving home, a box of green coffee beans from eight different regions arrived at our door. It was at this moment he informed me he wanted to start a coffee company and name it after my grandfather, as a way to honor and remember him. From there, we began researching and sampling, and that was the beginning.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While it hasn’t been smooth, I can’t say it’s been bumpy either. When we began, due to the love and support of family and friends, we sold out of our first three offerings within 24 hours each. Expanding has represented a bit of a challenge, as we’ve connected with local businesses who are highly interested in partnering with us and allowing us to use their space to roast coffee, but zoning issues have slowed that process. And, as with many small businesses, after the initial burst of success, momentum began to plateau a bit but we just keep moving forward and making connections instead of allowing ourselves to become discouraged.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Lelo’s Coffe Co. – what should we know?
We are specialty coffee roasters. We are constantly buying, roasting, and sampling new regions to offer to our customers. Because we are such a small business, we can be highly precise in terms of which offerings we provide and we only sell truly unique and meticulously roasted coffee. We absolutely love small businesses – even more so now that we understand the enormous effort that goes into starting and maintaining one – and we are constantly establishing new partnerships with interesting, like-minded small businesses to offer our joint customers a more novel experience, unlike ones they’ve had before. I am truly proud of the fact that we are the very definition of a family business, and my husband and myself have put in countless late-night hours just the two of us, roasting and perfecting our coffee. It sounds cheesy to say sometimes, but when we meet with new customers – whether retailers or individuals – I tell them, “Your coffee is made with love. The smell of roasting coffee has, in the past year, become synonymous to me with the feeling of spending time with the person I love most, in a joint effort to create something special together.”
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe our attention to detail and love for what this business represents are the most important qualities in terms of our ongoing success. We have never and will never offer a product we do not believe is superb, and because our coffee carries my grandfather’s nickname and image, and is created by my husband and myself, we will continue to maintain the utmost integrity and pride in what we do.
Pricing:
- All coffees are $12.50 per 12oz bag
Contact Info:
- Address: McKinney, TX
- Website: leloscoffeeco.com
- Email: leloscoffeeco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leloscoffeeco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leloscoffeeco/
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
