We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amy Collins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amy below.

Amy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Before moving to the US, our hybrid US/Australian family often had US visitors come to Sydney. These people were a mix of family members and friends. Every visitor was exposed to the very robust Australian café culture while they were in Sydney and the response from them was invariably delight at the experience. Unique food combinations and great coffee were not things they usually associated with coffee stores in the US. So, with these experiences in mind, when my parents moved to the US, and part way through my anthropology degree, as a family of entrepreneurs we started to formulate plans to recreate the Australian café experience in the US. Our first operations were via our food truck that served authentic Australian savory items and sodas and then we branched out into gourmet coffee and other drinks. While we created two distinct markets, there was significant overlap between the two. Our first café is due to open and will run in tandem with our coffee truck. The key niche that we believed we could service was for those Americans who “loved” difference and authentic cuisine. Many of our customers have visited Australia and are reminded of their visits and others come to the truck and are potentially inspired to visit in future. A few key platforms for our success have been a focus on community insertion (animal rescue and student education) and the development of a “small town” coffee environment at the truck where customers enjoy have conversations with other customers.

Amy, 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?
As started earlier, we are a family of entrepreneurs and starting businesses has become very much a part of our fabric. The development of a café concept was deemed sensible, so long as we could differentiate our business from the larger players in the market. This we have done, and while COVID-19 has delayed things by a few years, it also opened up opportunities in our local market that we have grabbed with both hands. Current planning is for additional outlets and then potentially licensing operations in other US states. Expansion is a natural by-product of what we have built because we keep things “simple”. Our business started from scratch and we built product menus that have evolved over time. Our social media growth, which also started from ground-zero, is reflective of satisfied customers and acknowledgment that we have remained authentically Australian along our journey. We recognize this “cultural difference” creates interest and even a degree of fascination in some customers. Whether food items or drink items, two things have driven us consistently; offering gourmet quality and the customization of our drinks menu. In respect to the latter, customers often comment that drink variations are really only paid “lip-service” in chain stores but we really do build drink profiles that customers appreciate. Cup of Joey is also focused on “always fresh”; whether the components in our cold brews, our coffee beans or our food products and customers have responded positively to this aspect of our business.

Have you ever had to pivot?
As with all businesses, COVID-19 created headaches and challenges. Our first pivot was to become a food and drink delivery service across the east valley of Phoenix. This confirmed customer support and appreciation for what we offered and served as testimony to the quality of our products. This delivery service was a first necessary pivot. Our second pivot was to focus on the local community in NE Mesa rather than travel to other cities. Our first coffee stop was one day per week, then two days and then three days at the same place and as customers became familiar with the routine and us, the business started to expand. A second local stop was added and it too grew beyond its start point. Concurrent with these local business markets, we started to create delivery programs for local schools, assuming that teachers and staff would appreciate the convenience Cup of Joey offered. While our café was a planned event, a local location had not been a focus. When a final site was selected, the major driver was our having developed two distinct markets within the same zip code and this will allow us to leverage of earlier business development work as we expand.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
I witnessed my parents developing businesses from the time I was in elementary school. During my later years at college, ready to graduate with an anthropology degree in Sydney, I was watching my parents doing in the US what they had done in Australia. During visits to the US, speculation, planning and strategy got increasingly more serious. While being entrepreneurial was new to me, I was amazed at just how much experience I had absorbed from my parents. What I soon understood was that the same basic things applied no matter what business you were developing; planning was essential, passion could only take you so far and you needed to work hard, good customer service will take you places you can not otherwise get to to, budgets and expenditure elements are always critically important and respect that sometimes good ideas don’t work (in which case modify or cut and run). What gave me great personal comfort was my parents’ ability to withstand set backs and to always be looking for opportunities in the least likely places. So, I didn’t really meet my fellow founders but was rather “born” into opportunities. That said, I feel an obligation to add value to the family business and in ways that leverage off my academic achievements and allow me to fuse US culture with my own Australian culture.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cupofjoeyaz.com
• Instagram: @cupofjoeyaz
• Facebook: @cupofjoeyaz
• Twitter: @cupofjoeyaz

Image Credits
Amy Collins, co-owner/founder of Cup of Joey with two new store baristas, Max Wagner inside the truck and Mark Matthis outside the truck