Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Priscilla and Elizabeth Palacios. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Priscilla and Elizabeth , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My sister and I have always wanted to start a business together. We talked about many concepts in the beginning, from a full blown to restaurant/cafe to a coffee trailer. We landed on a coffee cart! Money was always the factor, so coming up with something that was financially responsible for us was key. It all started during lockdown 2020. Like most people, we had all the time in the world to really hone in on what our concept was going to be. We were laid off from our job and thought to ourselves, this can’t happen again, so we got work. Making our own logo, launching our Instagram, making everything official by getting our LLC. We started doing farmers markets with just our homemade pastries and Cuban bread then the following year we went back to work and saved, saved, saved. Then in fall 2022, we went to the hardware store with some very rough plans and built our coffee cart! Everything just started falling into place after that. We got our espresso machine, coffee grinder and all the other fixing. Thanks to some amazing people in the coffee industry, we started getting booked. So all this to say we’ve definitely had many hurdles getting to this point but we never let anything get in the way of our passion for coffee and making connections with the people we meet in the process.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My sister and I have been in the coffee industry for over 5 years now, absorbing as much knowledge and experience as we can before starting our own business. There is a real science behind your morning cup of coffee. Dialing in, weighing out espresso to the last gram, making sure it pulls at just the right time to get the best flavor. It’s something we take a lot of pride in. We use a local roaster, Amaya Coffee, for our espresso. What makes them unique is that the beans are seasonal, so you will always get new flavor profiles from the highest quality beans, which we think is super special. We also make our own house made coffee syrups that pair perfectly with our espresso. We’re always experimenting with new flavors to keep things exciting! At the end of the day our goal is to bring a full coffee shop experience to your front door.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The way we have gained our client base is honestly through instagram and word of mouth, once you give someone a good experience with your product and brand it’s like a domino effect. Our thought process is nothing is a waste of time, for example a slower event and or markets, your still getting your name out there and giving 100% and who know who stops by and has your coffee it could lead to so many other opportunities.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
So initially when we started Casita Coffee Co. we bought a vintage trailer on Facebook market place, sight unseen 1st mistake. My sister and I were so ready to take her apart and build ourselves a coffee trailer, little did we know that the trailer was filled with water damage, obviously at that point we had to take a step back and reevaluate what we were going to do, then over a year later and a lot of saving up we knew a coffee cart was the way to go. We still have plans for a trailer so keep an eye out for that in the near future.
Contact Info:
- Website: CasitaCoffeeCo.com
- Instagram: Casitacoffee