Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeff Lopo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

First and foremost I’m the pastor of small church in Chula Vista called South Bay Christian Alliance. We belong to an evangelical denomination called the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance for short). The Alliance was birthed in 1881 when Pastor A. B. Simpson organized a small group of believers devoted to experiencing Jesus in His fullness and making Him known to New York City’s marginalized dock workers. Simpson took a risk when he quite his prestige appointment at his church to start something new in his desire to follow God’s call, to bring His hope to the nations, and to carry out our vision of All of Jesus for All the World. I try to carry that same mindset and spirit into my business.

My church’s location is paradoxical – we’re off of Telegraph Canyon Rd, less than a mile from the 805. Although we’re highly visibly and accessible, almost nobody knows we’re here. The question eventually arose, “what more could we do to help integrate our church into the community that it’s been a part of since it’s founding in 1972, and also draw people to it Monday through Friday?”

That’s where the coffee business came into focus. Coffee has been a long time passion of mine. One day while attending a local fire department open house I saw a food truck. In that moment everything came into focus – as a vendor I could be a part of community events but still be all about Jesus. During the week I could set up shop at the church which would give people better awareness of the it.

To do this I had to face many challenges and risks: I had never started a business, I had no business acumen, and I had limited capital.

What I had going for me was greater than any of the hurdles: my wife and church were in full support, and I have a God who can do anything.

We decided to make this my personal business to keep a healthy separation from church finances. I was providentially connected with a parent at my son’s preschool (next door to the church) who worked for a nonprofit – Accessity – that exists to open doors of financial opportunity, primarily to entrepreneurs of color, women, and immigrant entrepreneurs so they can build prosperous businesses and livelihoods for themselves and their families, while also strengthening our communities.

They had a free course teaching the basics of starting a business that I got into, and was instrumental in giving me the confidence for the business idea and supplying much needed resources and expertise.

Using no small amount from our savings, my wife and I bought the trailer for the business in April of 2023. Then, for the next ten months I went from theory to practice as I worked to get everything needed to launch. We thought it would be quick, but soon found out things would take longer and be more expensive than previously thought. We hoped to launch that November, but ultimately had our grand opening on January 18 2024.

I am writing this as I sit in my trailer in my church’s parking lot exactly 8 months to the day since opening. I still continue to learn a lot in terms of what it takes to run a successful business while also balancing my family life and pastoral responsibilities. I still haven’t taken a salary from it (aside from tips), but it is self sustaining. My path forward is similar to Simpson’s, to follow God’s call and to bring His hope to the nations.

Jeff, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Coffee has been a long time passion of mine. My wife and I bought a little $100 espresso machine when we first got married as a way to save money. During those early years I started to get acquainted with micro roasters, which opened my eyes to how stark a difference freshly roasted beans had on the quality of the cup I was drinking. Sometime later someone referred me to a countertop electric roaster, which has been a game changer. Over time we got a better espresso machine, jimmy-rigged a larger outdoor roaster, and installed a nitro-cold brew system.

With the business, my aim is to give people quality and locally sourced products which can be easily prepared so that there’s room for meaningful and encouraging conversation.

I also try to make sure the coffee has it’s own impact. My roaster is Talitha Coffee located in the south part of Downtown. Talitha Coffee is on a mission to end s*x trafficking and empower survivors, one cup at a time. I also make it a goal to give out free drinks to a community organization once a month.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The source of greatest challenge during the pre-launch phase was in preparing the interior of the trailer and putting together the needed documentation to submit to the health department and the City of Chula Vista. I’m not a particularly handy person, and there was key plumbing and electrical that needed to get done. I found someone off of Facebook who I had no prior knowledge of, but who gave me a nice rate to help get the work done. Also, since I don’t know much about commercial kitchens I made series of bad or mistaken purchases for equipment: coffee machine too big, sink too small, water heater needs more capacity, water tank has the wrong fittings, plumbing is leaking, need a separate handwashing sink, ice machine isn’t working properly, specific wording is missing on the blueprints, etc.

I had to resubmit the paperwork to the health department three times. After each submittal there was a month of silence. Once a correction was given I would have to figure out how to rectify it, resubmit, often times pay another large fee. I had many nights sitting on my trailer floor, staring into the abyss trying not to just quite and try something else.

The main thing that kept me going was knowing how much we already invested, and that I wasn’t trying to launch a man into space – I was just trying to make coffee in a trailer.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pivots I had to make in the pre-launch phase were pretty regular. At one point I had to rip out an entire section of counter space to accommodate a larger sink I didn’t plan on needing. I wanted a certain kind of coffee machine, bought it, then realized it wouldn’t work given the space and power limitations. I wanted just an ice storage area but later realized an ice machine would better suite my needs. I didn’t plan on having a lot of syrups but now I have six options. I didn’t have anything for kids but now I have juice and hot chocolate. I only wanted black coffee and tea and now I have iced mochas which are the most popular drink by far. I’ve already changed my roaster supplier once, and am looking into the possibility of roasting my own beans due to the cost.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sbca.coffee/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbcoffeealliance/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094036465993
• Other: https://sbca.church/

Image Credits

Kurt Bunch (for picture of trailer with the parking pillar).