Get to Know Tiny Café
The small coffee cart business, Tiny Café, has slowly taken over the hearts of central coast coffee lovers. Its unique mobile set up of a single tent, pop up table, and singular espresso machine prove that great things can truly come from small packages.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the adorable couple and creators of Tiny Café, Emily and Colin, to learn everything from the entrepreneurial side of making a start up business to the complex inner workings of creating the perfect latte.
Starting from Scratch
When asked what inspired Tiny Café’s creation, Colin shared that “Emily loves coffee…I would get up and make coffee for Emily in the mornings” and as time progressed, he began collecting more and more equipment. As the machinery evolved, so did the quality of their at-home coffee. Even before the pop-up style cafe, coffee, and customer satisfaction, in Colin’s eyes, Emily always seemed to be the end goal. As time progressed, Emily and Colin felt like their coffee had something special apart from the other coffee options in SLO. It was almost like a perfect “aha moment” where they recognized that their happiness from quality coffee could be shared with the greater San Luis Obispo community.
Inspired to learn more about coffee, Emily and Colin secured jobs as baristas. Colin described the shop he worked at to be fast paced with a high efficiency in multitasking. Emily’s barista experience contrasted Colin’s high tempo shifts because, at her job, the pacing was significantly slower and experienced less customer traffic. They mentioned their gratitude to Bread Bike Bikery for allowing them to set up pop-ups during their early days in their cafe journey where they served only drip or pour over drinks. Emily shared that she recognized a lack of awareness and attention to sustainable practices in coffee shops. She explained that there was a problem with the amount of waste that shops would create weekly. There was no mindfulness of the input or output of coffee shop materials, and this inspired her to factor sustainability into the blueprint of Tiny Café.
Now, quality coffee wasn’t just the main goal, but sustainability was also a key factor in creating their dream business. Sustainability is not only the main goal of Tiny Café, but also an important building block of their foundation. The initial reasoning behind the pop-up style shop was a result of not having access to resources. I was fascinated to learn that Colin prioritized not only outsourcing different machines, but also learning how to fix and repair the machines which showcases his passion and resourcefulness to reduce additional repair fees. Colin used the terminology of “boot strap business” to describe their upcoming. They described picking up free espresso and coffee machines from the side of the road and outsourcing any resource that could grow their coffee knowledge. I was stunned to learn that in the past, they had to drive all the way to LA or SF in 24-hour periods to repair their current and highly valued Slayer Espresso machine. Colin also noted that he prioritizes learning the correct way to preserve and repair the machinery to save them both time and money. The ability to learn from every single mistake and using these mistakes as fuel for positive growth seemed to be an important lesson that Colin felt important for other entrepreneurs.
While pop-up design was a result of making the best out of the limited resources, its unique functionality created high value customer service. Emily expressed that the pop-up style method allows them to travel where their customers are which creates an exciting experience that sets them apart from most coffee businesses.
How To Guide: Entrepreneurial Dreams to Reality
The authenticity and honesty of Tiny Café was apparent through their humble background repairing smaller lower scale coffee machines. When asked about the logistics of funding, they shared that saving up took time and sacrifices, as well as a small loan to shift their vision into a reality. They explained the interesting process behind choosing their beloved Slayer Espresso machine. Emily stated that they were deciding between either a smaller, brand-new machine that is commonly used by most catering businesses due to its standardness and lightweight quality. Nevertheless, their decision to choose the “crown jewel” as Colin joked, proves their commitment to providing top notch coffee. Their savings combined with a small loan helped them purchase a pristine second hand Slayer Espresso machine that they still use today.
When asked about what they had learned about the entrepreneurial side of running a startup coffee business, the couple reflected on their first official event with their new machine was at the SLO Beaver Festival. Emily reminisced about the surprise she experienced at the simplicity of having a card reader to transact sales. She noted that if there’s a card reader, people are always eager and comfortable using it because that form of payment is so common these days. What stuck with me from this chat was that if there is an opportunity to sell, there are always going to be customers ready to buy. It’s all about taking the leap and trusting that you have all the right ingredients or tools under your belt to make this jump towards paving your personal success.
About Tiny Café
As stated, Tiny Café began their pop-up outside of Bread Bike Bakery, and Emily and Colin commemorated the bakery’s community values and attention towards their sustainability. Currently, Tiny Café’s pop-up is located outside of Lincoln Deli weekly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9am-3pm. The jump from Bread Bike Bakery to Lincoln Deli was based on shared values between Tiny Café and Lincoln Deli. Emily shared that Lincoln Deli is notoriously known for their support for other SLO companies like Rad Juice, other pop up companies, or even neighborhood children’s food stands. It’s important to partner and collaborate with other local companies that are open to innovation and foster ways to connect the community with small businesses.
At first glance, Tiny Café’s menu is small, but that is part of their sustainable and simple approach to coffee. The couple explained that a limited amount of options helps avoid the overcomplication of coffee and that their drinks are able to stand for themselves. Emily noted that their simple menu reduces the need to add flavors to hide anything or distract from the richness of their coffee and matcha.
Both Emily and Colin agreed that the fan favorite menu item is the “Favorite Latte” which is vanilla cardamom flavored paired with their top secret latte sauce. They laughed revealing that, when going into the coffee industry, they knew that a vanilla iced latte – particularly with oat milk – was the most ordered drink amongst younger people.
“We wanted to knock that one [iced vanilla latte] out of the park and build it from the ground up with the best ingredients: Straus Milk, Organic Minor Figures oat milk, and our secret latte sauce” explained Colin.
The “Favorite Latte” is a definite fan favorite, but they also mentioned their other menu items like espresso, cappucino, and matcha lattes. Pricing ranges from $3-11 and Emily articulated that the range of their menu and pricing allows customers to choose what works best for them. She also emphasized their Bring-Your-Own Cup for $1 discount off deal where customers can bring their own cup to save money while also contributing to sustainability. When it all comes down to it, it was amazing to see that sustainability remains Tiny Café’s main goal.
An honorable menu mention is the $11 Activated Latte which contains espresso, organic ghee, MCT grass fed whey collagen, and organic milk. Emily’s favorite drink to make is the “Favorite Cappuccino” because she loves to add the special secret syrup, and the “Favorite Matcha” is Colin’s favorite drink because of its years of perfection and deep green color.
The Future of Tiny Café?
The small scale Tiny Café is the pop-up version we know and love, but when asked about future aspirations and goals, I learned about their interest in possibly opening a brick-and-mortar Tiny Café. Like all permanent storefronts, challenges like reasonable rent and landlord compatibility factor into their decision to adapt from their pop-up style. They agreed that even if they were to open a long term shop, the pop-up version of Tiny Café would not disappear because of its hybrid functionality and fun that comes with traveling to different locations. Another future vision would be to expand their roasting operations to strengthen their production capabilities and create syrups to sell for customers to make their favorite coffees at home.
For now, the main goal of Tiny Café is to continue bringing quality products to their customers and strengthening the SLO community. Incentivising people to bring their own cups is another aspiration that complements their sustainable values. Not only was our conversation a helpful guide to the fundamental building blocks of starting a business, but also motivating insight on what prioritizing sustainability looks like. It is certain that Tiny Café cares about the positive impact they have on the SLO community and the environment. Tiny Café is a standout spot worth visiting! Try the handcrafted coffee for yourself (and remember, don’t forget to bring your own cup for a dollar off their delicious menu).