Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Adcock.
Hi Patrick, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Opening a coffee shop is something I’ve dreamt of doing for a long time, but I never really knew how to do it.
I found my love of coffee working as a barista at Starbucks during college. Working in coffee spiked my interest for learning more, and I quickly fell into the world of specialty coffee. I remember trying specialty coffee for the first time. It tasted nothing like anything I had tried before. Full of sweetness and complexity, I was hooked.
That changed how I thought about coffee. It went from something that helped me wake up in the morning or to get me through a long study session, to a carefully crafted and cared for experience. It went from a commodity to an art.
After college, reality set in, and I took the first job I could find in tech.
I always imagined it as something I’d come back to after a long career in corporate America, and I had enough savings to fund a coffee shop myself. I imagined it as more of a retirement than anything. Coffee has always been something fun and exciting for me and making it my source of income sounded stressful. I didn’t want the business side of things to ruin what I love about working in coffee.
So thinking that was my path to the thing I really wanted to do, I took a job in tech right out of college with the hope of making enough money to pursue the thing I loved someday. A few years into working at my 9-5 desk job, I found myself lost. I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted my life to look like, but it was so far from my reality.
I wasn’t willing to admit it, and honestly I might not have even known it at the time, but I was really unhappy. I had taken this “safe path” and told myself I’d eventually do the thing I loved once I was stable and secure. It felt like the smart, sensible thing I should do. But it wasn’t the thing I wanted to do.
I’ve always been a people pleaser. I grew up religious and saw sacrificing my own needs for others as a thing to be admired. I lived most of my life this way and really struggled knowing and pursuing what I wanted because of it. It all came to a head for me when I went through a pretty messy divorce.
I lost a lot of friends in the wake of it and left the city I grew up in. I put everything I owned in my car, sold anything that didn’t fit, and moved to California. I didn’t know anyone there, or even have a plan, I just knew I needed a fresh start. That first year here was incredibly lonely and hard.
When you’re in a new place and have no friends you have a lot of time to yourself. At the time, that was terrifying. It forced me to do a lot of self-reflection and really asked myself what I wanted from life. That was a really hard and scary thing for me.
I remember having this sort of awakening. I saw my life flying by and realized just how short this life we have really is. I was 26 years old, alone, newly divorced, with no friends, and felt I had nothing to show for myself. I felt like I had gotten there in the blink of an eye.
I think that was the first time in my life that I really thought about what I wanted. Not what I thought I should do, what I thought others wanted me to do, but what I actually wanted.
It sounds simple, but it felt so foreign to me. I made almost every major decision for other people. What they thought, what they wanted, or how they would perceive me. I had a year of really getting to know myself for the first time, and it gave me such a passion for life.
Exploring new places, trying new things, finding new hobbies. I felt like I was seeing the world with fresh eyes every day. That change in my mindset was so valuable to me. It gave me the courage to try. To put myself out there and be okay with whatever happened.
It wasn’t until after all that self-reflection and therapy, that I took my first big step toward chasing my dream.
In 2020, I bought a coffee roaster and decided to try to learn the basics of how to roast coffee. I roasted on the balcony of my apartment and offered coffee to anyone who would give me feedback on my roasts.
A couple of years later, I was feeling confident with the coffee I was making and felt like it was time to start seeing how I could turn it into something more than a hobby. I didn’t want it to just be a source of income for myself, but something that I felt was missing in the world.
I wanted to create a space that would bring people together and build a strong community through coffee. My dog Charlie is the inspiration for that vision.
Around the time I started roasting coffee, I adopted Charlie. She was about seven months old and so afraid of the world. I remember when they brought her in the room to meet me she was so terrified she wouldn’t do anything but lay on the floor. I knew at that moment I couldn’t leave her there.
I brought her home that day and we were attached to each other the moment we left.
We grew a lot together that first year. Each day, I could see her growing and becoming more comfortable. She went from sleeping all day and not wanting to leave home, to being playful, silly, and excited for each new day.
And as much as I watched her grow and develop that year, she helped me grow even more. She taught me patience, kindness, peace, and how to love again. She opened my heart in a way I never expected and I know I wouldn’t have the great relationship I have, with my partner Courtney, today without the lessons Charlie taught me.
She puts smiles on faces everywhere we go and brings joy to so many she interacts with. My hope is that Charlie’s Coffee Co can be a space for others to experience a small piece of that as well. To be a space for people to laugh, grow, be themselves, and find connection with one another.
While we’re far from being able to afford a physical location for a coffee shop to serve as that space, my goal at the moment is to bring that same energy whenever and however we show up.
I started that journey back in Santa Cruz, where I sold coffee on the beach out of a cart that I built and towed with my bike. We set up our little coffee cart right on the coast and sell coffee on the weekends. It was such a great way to get to know the people in our community and be a fun destination for people to connect.
We made the move from Santa Cruz to Los Angeles over the summer looking for a bigger city and a place we felt we could put down roots and have been met with such a warm welcome here. Having only been here a few months it already feels like home.
After the move, I felt like I was meeting so many people doing interesting things. There was an energy in the city I hadn’t felt anywhere I had lived of people chasing their dreams and trying to “make it” doing the thing they loved.
I wanted to try and tap into that energy and highlight some of the amazing things people were doing and hopefully build a community around that.
So I started an interview show called Grounds Up where I interviewed guests who are doing exciting things and following their passions while doing a coffee tasting. It might remind you of another interview show where celebrities eat spicy wings, but instead of wings, we drink coffee.
My goal with the show is to highlight the awesome work of the guests we have on the show, ask them thoughtful questions about their work, grow a community of people excited about chasing their dreams.
Not having a physical location makes things a little tricky with a coffee business focused on building community, but I try to be creative about how we can embody that without a physical space. Showing up where people are with our coffee cart for pop-ups or events and growing an online community through Grounds Up.
Community is the heart of everything I do with Charlie’s Coffee Co it’s what I hope we can build more of in the world.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not even close.
I’ve never started a business before so no part of it has been easy because I have no idea what I’m doing. Every step of the way, I’m learning. One of the more challenging parts for me has been trying to find what permits we need to operate and the cost of each step in that process.
Running a business was a big hurdle for me mentally. I hate selling stuff to people, which is not a great quality in someone starting a business. I remember when I first set up our coffee cart, it was hard for me to charge people for coffee. I wanted to just share this thing I made and was really proud of with people.
Finding traction has been another challenge I’ve struggled to know how to overcome. There’s a million places for people to get coffee from and standing out in that space seems impossible sometimes. My approach is to just be myself and hope people connect with some part of what I’m trying to do. It’s slow and it’s not sexy but I’m optimistic it’ll pay off someday.
Lastly, funding the business is always a challenge. Opening a coffee shop costs a lot of money. Money that I definitely don’t have lying around. So instead, I’ve tried to work with a limited budget and grow slowly over time. Sometimes that pace is really frustrating. I daydream about how I’d invest the money if I won the lottery a lot.
We’ve been impressed with Charlie’s Coffee Co., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started my business to create the kind of community and space that I wanted to see. Growing up religious you have tons of community spaces, events, and people to connect to, but after leaving the church I really struggled to find that. I felt like there should be a place for people to host an art show, a movie night, or play music that didn’t have to center around religion. I wanted it to be a place that felt like people could call their own. It’s definitely not a new idea, but I think it’s something we’ve need more of.
The kind of coffee we make definitely helps promote that kind of environment as well. We focus on specialty coffee, usually from a single origin. For those not familiar with it, I like to compare it to wine, where each coffee has its own distinct tasting notes and origin characteristics. It’s typically a slower process to make, and each step is very considered from the water we use, the grind of the coffee, and even how you pour water on the grounds.
I think this type of coffee lends itself to the kind of environment and atmosphere we want to create. When we do pop-ups and events, I get to connect with our customers while we make their coffee. It gives us time to talk about their day and their interests, or oftentimes to talk to them about the coffee I’m making for them. I love to show customers the difference in beans, have them smell them, and even eat them if they want to.
I love connecting people to the coffee we serve. When you get a coffee, you usually just get a warm cup. You might not even look at the thing you’re drinking if it has a lid on it. Most people don’t realize that coffee is actually a seed that’s inside a fruit that was grown halfway around the world from where they are. It’s so removed from all the work and passion that went into making that thing you drink so the more I can try to connect people to that process the better.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If you want to have us come serve coffee for you we’re always looking to work events or partner with businesses who need coffee. We also post on our Instagram (@charlies_coffee_co) whenever we do a pop-up/event if you’re looking to try our coffee.
I also host an interview show where I interview guests over a coffee tasting. It’s called Grounds Up, and it’s on YouTube. We’d love for you to check it out and join our virtual community there.
Or you can always just order coffee directly from us on our website charliescoffeecompany.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: charliescoffeecompany.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlies_coffee_co/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@charliescoffeeco
Image Credits
Just taken by me @the_pcock on instagram
