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:

• 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
• 423 : Founder Friday! w/ Danny and Michelle Quiroz of Reserva Coffee Roasters | McAllen, TX
• 236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
• 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
• 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
• 488: Founder Friday! Honoring Coffee's Root w/ Bartholomew Jones of Cxffee Black!
• 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
• 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar

Sponsor:

www.coffeefest.com