What does it take to turn a local café into an international coffee powerhouse without losing sight of values, people, or quality?
In this episode of NWA Founders, we sit down with Andrea Allen, co-founder of Onyx Coffee Lab, to hear how she and her husband Jon transformed a small Northwest Arkansas coffee shop into one of the most influential specialty coffee brands in the world.

From winning national barista championships to expanding into multiple states, Andrea shares the behind-the-scenes story of building a brand known for excellence, transparency, and relentless innovation. With honesty and depth, she opens up about what it means to scale a values-based business while raising a family and leading in a highly competitive industry.

If you're a founder building something with integrity (or just a coffee lover with high standards) this episode is a masterclass in purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

Summary

Andrea and Jon launched Onyx Coffee Lab in 2012 with one goal: make exceptional coffee accessible without compromising on ethics or aesthetics. In the early days, Andrea handled operations, payroll, and everything in between. Their passion for design, flavor, and sourcing turned heads and eventually led to Andrea becoming a US Barista Champion and World Barista runner-up.

Andrea talks about the challenges and joys of growth: managing people, building systems, and making sure the brand evolves without sacrificing its identity. With locations in Bentonville, Rogers, Fayetteville, and Tulsa, Onyx has scaled with intention never chasing fast money, but always staying dialed in to culture, creativity, and excellence.

From merch to messaging, Andrea explains how every detail at Onyx is crafted with meaning. She shares how they’ve cultivated a team of passionate, disciplined professionals and why service is still at the center of everything. Looking ahead, she’s focused on creating opportunity, expanding leadership, and making Onyx a place where craft and community coexist.

Highlights

00:00 – Starting Onyx: the early days, purpose, and creative drive

15:00 – Barista competitions and shaping brand values

30:00 – Scaling with structure

45:00 – How Onyx builds long-term career pathways

60:00 – Balancing family, leadership, and personal growth as a founder

75:00 – What’s next?

Nick's 3 Key Takeaways

1. Make the work the reward - Andrea doesn’t chase external validation, she finds meaning in doing the work with excellence every single day.
2. Clarity creates alignment - The reason Onyx scales well is because everyone, from baristas to leadership, knows the mission and standards inside and out.
3. Build what you want to see in the world - Andrea and Jon created Onyx to reflect their ideals. In doing so, they built something the world needed: something beautiful, honest, and world-class.

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NWA Founders is a voice for Founders, Owners, and Builders driving growth in Northwest Arkansas, and is hosted by Cameron Clark and Nick Beyer.