Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Maravilla.
Monique, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am an audio/visual engineer by trade and have worked at both The Hollywood Bowl and for Cirque du Soleil’s “Iris” show.
Once I knew that the Cirque show was coming to an end, I needed to decide what my next move would be. My husband and I were on a road trip and he asked me, “When were you happiest at a job?” I thought about it and realized that it was when I was working as a barista in a coffee shop, making coffee and connections.
“You should open your own coffee shop,” he said.
“I think I should.”
Fast-forward a few years (and many obstacles!) later, and I had opened Kindness & Mischief Coffee.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all. You can expect struggles, but some of the obstacles that came up felt like mountains. We had our main investor fall through in the middle of construction, so that lead us to regroup and do a Kickstarter a few months later. The Kickstarter was the hardest month of my life. You prepare as much as you can, but you’re never fully ready for the onslaught of the 24/7 push that is a crowdfunding campaign. Asking people for money is already never easy, plus your emotions get tied to how much money you raised that day. We successfully funded our campaign, and it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.
We also had multiple setbacks because of the city. Without going into too much detail, we finished the buildout pretty quickly but had ridiculously problematic inspectors. Two in particular. We’d fix everything they asked for the last inspection, and then they would come back the next week, sign off on everything we fixed, then would come up with a whole new set of problems they wanted us to fix. Sometimes they wouldn’t even show up to our appointments. That went on for almost a year. We also dealt with racism, sexism, bigotry – you name it and we probably dealt with that too!
By the time we opened it had been over two years since I signed on for the space. It took longer than we ever expected and it depleted all my life’s savings. We finally opened in May 2016, and we’re now 3 months away from our 1-year anniversary! Has it been a smooth road? No, not at all. But was it all worth it? Damn right it was. I can’t be happier and prouder of the thing we’ve built and the community we continue to grow.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Kindness and Mischief Coffee is a people-driven, quality-obsessed, and community-centered specialty coffee shop. Our mission is to provide the most consistent and highest quality coffee, espresso, and tea to its patrons in a warm, welcoming, uplifting environment. We strive to not only produce the best product possible but to use that cup of coffee, espresso, or tea as a means to create a heartfelt connection with each individual customer. We focus on local everything – roasters, bakers, artists, chefs, but also have guest roasters from around the country. That’s probably what I’m proudest of as a company – the community we are growing and the connections we make.
We aren’t reinventing the wheel – it’s still just coffee, y’all. We take our coffee seriously but still believe in having a whole lotta’ fun with it, and we want to share that joy in every cup.
What were you like growing up?
I was the kid that wanted to do EVERYTHING. I loved adventures. I was insanely hyper and I valued experience greatly, I would try to do anything at least once. Even if I failed at something or was terrible at it, I was always down to try. I loved music and traveling; I still do. I also loved eating and drinking. My parents are the same, and they’re still my favorite cooks. My dad and I are usually the ones that try the weird strange dishes at restaurants. Basically I wanted (and still want!) to do everything, try everything, taste everything, see everything!
Contact Info:
- Address: 5537 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
- Website: www.kandmcoffee.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @kandmcoffee
- Facebook: Kindness and Mischief Coffee
- Twitter: @kandmcoffee
- Yelp: Kindness and Mischief Coffee
Image Credit:
Tony Akeno, Brenna Weeks, Sarah Cristine Wallick (@exodusfromashes), Jeff Newton (@americanomondays), Chermelle Danicea Edwards (@thecoffeetographer), Jo Anne (@sugarfiend13)
