We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Allyson LeBleu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Allyson below.
Allyson, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Since I was a little girl, I have always had big feelings and a deep love for the human experience and unspoken emotions that come along with living life. For as long as I can remember, I have been around people that feel feelings differently, almost as if they don’t know how to explain the moment they’re living in, or the feeling of a memory they have of a specific moment, and that fascinates me. A few years ago, I found the book “The dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” and the author, John Koenig, basically has created this “dictionary” of new words for emotions that people don’t know how to describe. If you haven’t read it, it is a 15/10 recommendation from me. It is FABULOUS!! When the idea of opening my own shop became a real thing, I knew that I wanted the name to be unique, and a play on words, and I wanted it to mean something to people.. to me. I didn’t want a cliche, I didn’t want something that was going to be forgotten.. I wanted emotion. And so, in scrolling through Koenig’s book, searching for inspiration.. I stumbled on Aftersome, and I knew immediately, upon reading its definition, that it was for me. Aftersome isn’t just a small coffee trailer.. something brought you to us, and we’re so happy you found us when you did. Had one thing been different, you would’ve ended up somewhere else, and we’re where you’re supposed to be.
*Aftersome – adj. astonished to think back on the bizarre sequence of accidents that brought you to where you are today — as if you’d spent years bouncing down a Plinko pegboard, passing through a million harmless decision points, any one of which might’ve changed everything — which makes your long and winding path feel fated from the start, yet so unlikely as to be virtually impossible.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I don’t even know where to begin. I guess that I truly fell in love with coffee in 2009, at a little tiny shop in Weslaco, Texas. Little did I know that it would grow to be my passion and bring me to where it has today. I’d like to say that striving to serve the best coffee anyone has ever tasted is the main goal, but, for me it’s more than that. I am huuuuge on community— creating a safe space for everyone, where no one, not one single person, feels judged or ashamed or looked down on— and so for me, they go hand in hand; coffee and community. I have worked in NUMEROUS coffee shops, and the thing that I never understood is how so many of the shops I have visited, all share mostly the same menu.. the standard Caramel latte, Vanilla Cinnamon latte, Mocha, etc.. and don’t get me wrong, the classics are great! But why not throw some Banana, orrrr Green Apple in there, maybe a Pineapple cold foam? You want a cold brew that tastes like oreos? Say less! Anything is possible, and at the trailer, my business partner says it best.. when people come and ask us for our favorites, its usually never a vanilla cold brew… lol, its our Twix Latte, or a Banana Split cold brew, and we aren’t afraid to put it on the menu. There is nothing more exciting than giving someone a John Wayne, and watching the whole experience, and cheering them on as they finish it. People dont just go to coffee shops because they want something to drink..people want to be a part of something. They want to be a regular at a coffee shop, or at a small grocery store, or restaurant. People’s faces light up when they are remembered and welcomed back, and I think that is one thing that I strive to do wherever I am working..but ESPECIALLY in my own business. I want to know your name, and your story, and your kids, or pets, or besties. I want you to be a part of our story, as much or as little as you want to be. The coffee scene is one that is taken so seriously, and sometimes, it’s not about that. It’s not always about who you know, or how many stacks are on your tulips on your social media.. sometimes it’s about being the first person to find out that one of your regulars is having a baby, or hearing about someone’s first heartache and offering them a shoulder to cry on. We want to pour just as many rosettas as the next baristas, but we also want to be there when your kiddo tries their first coffee, and we want to celebrate you when you get engaged. We love the little moments that bridge the gap between customers and friends, and I feel like that is what sets us apart.. you can ask anyone that knows us.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Goshhhh.. I usually don’t just talk about this with someone who doesn’t know me personally, but, I feel as though resilient is my middle name, haha, or at least it should be. I guess there should be a *trigger warning* because some of this will be hard to talk about, or read about, rather. Um, growing up, my immediate family, consisted of my mom and older brother, and me. I didn’t really grow up with my dad, or his side of the family, but I knew that I had 3 brothers and a sister. In February of 2015, my mom called the Starbucks that I was working at to tell me that my brother that I had grown up with, James, and suddenly passed away, and that I needed to come home. I was devastated, to say the least. My mom and I weren’t always the closest, but mannnn, did losing him change that. That woman became my everything. She was my favorite person, my every day constant, my best friend. In Oct. of 2022, she got diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometrial Cancer, and was immediately moved from the Rio Grande Valley up to San Antonio, to live with me and my husband. I told my team (at the coffee shop that I managed) that I was going to need all the help I could get at the shop, so that I could take care of my mom.. and that’s what I did for the last 6 months of her life. Her brother and sisters in law, my cousins, etc, all lived in the RGV, and so when it came to caring for her, it was just me and my husband, no nurses, no help, no nothing. Just us, figuring it all out day by day. I spent 4 months in the hospital with her, day in and day out, I spent a month at a hospice center with her, and then she was brought home on hospice to my living room in the apartment I had rented for us.. and I sat with her, hand in hand, until she took her last breath in February of 2023. When I tell you that losing her shattered me, I mean it literally broke my heart. Suddenly, I found myself trying to navigate feeling completely alone, without the woman that shaped me, and the brother that was supposed to be there when the time came to bury our mom. The weight of this grief seemed unbearable, yet, throughout it all, I kept going. I went to work the same day that she passed. Some people say that’s crazy, but honestly, it felt good to be around the community that I knew and loved. So I went back to work the day after we laid her to rest, and I have been going ever since. She didn’t get the chance to keep going, so I did. I will never take a day of work for granted, because I know that she wouldn’t want me to give up. My husband has been my rock since day one, hands down, because if I didn’t have him throughout all of it, I don’t know where I’d be.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I guess this answer kind of ties into the above question/answer, too. In 2022, before my mom got so sick that she couldn’t walk, I took her to the coffee shop where I was working for the last time. She told me that she finally understood what people felt when they came in— she could feel the magic— the kindness that we poured into that place, and it changed her for the better. When she passed away, the community pulled together and comforted me in a way I’ll ever be able to understand, but I’ll always be thankful for. Soon after her funeral, I think was when I veryyyy quickly realized that my time at that shop was coming to an end. The owner’s vision for that shop was complete opposite of what we (myself and my team) had created, so I began to look elsewhere, not knowing what would happen. I looked for jobs all over the United States, but then the trailer became available, I kind of joked about buying it, but eventually talked myself into doing it. Matchmade Coffee, from Edinburg, Tx, owned the trailer, but decided to take a chance on me, and I decided to take a chance on myself. So I left the place that I loved to start my own business. I was TERRIFIED. June 10, 2023 was my last day there, and July 10, 2023 was our first day open at the trailer, and let me tell you— I was so scared that the magic of the old shop wouldn’t translate over to this place, and I’ll be the first to tell you, it does. Everything about who we are, what we are, and all that we created came with us, and we are THRIVING in this new era of our lives. We can only hope that all of the magic we believe in and bring to this place can be felt in all that we do.
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Image Credits
Crystal Kelly Photography