how did you think of this?
PIA HERE, MAYBE I CAN HELP...
The truth is: I didn't think of the idea for this business — it was an accident. Oops? But here we are: slinging espresso shots on the side of the road, and hoping to keep doing it.
OCT. 2024
SEPT. 2024
JAN. 2024
JAN. 2023
SEPT. 2022
I sat on my couch, legs tucked, with my laptop perched on my knees, reading a Craiglist Ad for a 1965 VW Bus, loved for many years, and looking for a new home.
I was fresh off a few months of rejection, and decidedly fired up. I'd poured every ounce of entrepreneurial energy I had into building a business plan, proforma, and opening cost estimator for my second business: Considered. I'd interviewed industry veterans, secured funding, engaged a broker, and toured every empty commercial space in Santa Barbara.
I'd put in three offers at/above asking price, agreed to NNN terms and personal guarantees. And I couldn't get anyone to take me seriously.
Why? While I can't prove it, I'm pretty sure it was because I was a woman just shy of 30, who pulled up on a scooter, wearing sneakers and bearing tattooed arms. I wore no bra, no makeup, and had no male business partner backing me. I didn't know the right people and I didn't have money to lose.
Back to that Craigslist Ad: that old bus with plenty of patina, peeling upholstery, priced right, and located just up the road was looking pretty good right about now...
I bought the bus in cash on the spot.
And decided that I would show the patriarchy some love by building this business backwards: with profit as an outcome, and people as the driving force. I figured I may as well do it my way: with generosity, community, quality, candor, and some fine ass systems to boot.
I asked questions, voiced opinions, and made counter offers when they expected me to sit down, shut up, and look pretty. When I asked for feedback, the only response I got was: you're not the tenant the owner wants in the space.
The truth is, I started this business because I had something to prove: I'm going to do this — with or without you.
I don't fit into your box? Fine, I'll make my own. You just saved me $16k/mo in rent. Thanks!
SEPT. 2022
In just 4 short months, I'd managed to turn a 60 year old vehicle into a coffee shop — thanks in large part to the kind guys at Cory Motors and Campo Vans — who either pitied my naive optimism, or who I managed to charm into submission — it's still unclear.
We did an engine and break overhaul, replaced upholstery, read all 212 pages of Santa Barbara County Health Code, built a fully self-sufficient coffee shop (plumbing and electric included), replaced coroded window seals, and gave the bus a fresh paint job.
No one had done something exactly like this before, and we weren't totally sure it was going to work.
When I pulled the first espresso shot off the machine in the bus, I almost collapsed with relief.
JAN. 2023
Getting Considered off the ground was the hardest thing I've ever done. While everyone else was focused on how I got a health permit, I was dealing with staff turnover, generator oil changes, tight cashflow, wet weather, failing brakes, backlash from B/M business owners and everything in between.
It was chaos behind the scenes, but on the curb, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. You kept telling us how cool it was, that the coffee was some of the best you'd had, that you'd been seeing us everywhere, that our staff's service was incredible.
By the end of year 1, we'd had our first profitable month, were getting 3-5 inquiries per week. And YOU all had become our reason to stay open. Knowing your names, your orders, how to make your kids smile, your dog's favorite rubs became the things we looked forward to most.
JAN. 2024
Two years after I bought the VW Bus, it was clear: we needed less operational unpredictability, more geographical range, and a more reliable foothold to keep growing.
I set my sights on a short school bus, and came home from Temecula with one a few weeks later.
SEPT. 2024
And now, our old VW Bus is stationed at our rotating Open Air Cafe, and you've probably seen our new rig on the streets: a 1998 Ford Type A school bus.
Yes, you can come in. Yes, your kids and dog, too.
Shortie can travel farther, can serve larger crowds more efficiently, and has expanded menu capabilities.
We have fresh food drops and a grab/go fridge. We have kombucha on tap! We even have a spot for you to sit.
It's a pretty freakin' cool upgrade.
And it's bookable for private events and pop ups, too.
OCT. 2024
meet the team
you?
barista
We're always looking for baristas to join our team. If you love coffee, career growth, and/or customer experience, we'd love to chat with you.
APPLY
we consider ourselves wildly capable women
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OUR MONTHLY CALENDAR
Note: everything on this calendar is subject to change based on event bookings, inclement weather, unexpected mechanical issues, and staffing.
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we're chasers of excellent experiences
AMONG OTHER THINGS — HOLD YOUR HORSES
woman owned + led
With a leadership team that hails from hospitality, creative agency, and marketing strategy backgrounds, we’ve ditched food/bev standards for better business practices. We're sick + tired of 'that's the way it's always been done' when that way straight up does not make sense. And we've got the spreadsheets to prove it. Plus, we source key components from woman-owned businesses, too.
*chefs kiss*
We love coffee. It might be our one true love, to be honest. But our favorite side chick we can't seem to kick is the desire to consume things that are truly exceptional. Things that make you want to linger longer. That make you feel seen and understood in all your utter humanness. That make you wonder, why aren't more people doing it like this. Did we mention we have really high expectations?
agile + adaptive
We don't pretend to have it all figured out. We make decisions based on what our best customers tell us, and we iterate with intention. We love to dig into the data in the name of continuous improvement. We like to think we're feelings-forward people, but we aren't afraid to tell you to f*ck off if you're not being nice. Oh, and we're known for nuances that make everything feel thought-through.
it was an accident.
we didn't think of this idea, it just sorta happened.
We didn't set out to start a coffee company, and certainly not in a VW Bus.
It just sorta happened. Oops?
Our love for making consumer experiences exceptional and building businesses that change narratives, our deep appreciation for a good cup of coffee, and our sentimental attachment to vintage VW vehicles (and a healthy dose of patriarchal push-back) landed us here.
And now that we are, we're gonna make the most of it. We're here to shake things up, make some people uncomfortable, inspire us all to do better, and serve a damn good cup of coffee while we do.
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@consideredsb.co