Today we’d like to introduce you to Ambar and Jennifer Sandoval.
Hi Ambar and Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit since I was a child. Growing up in Mexico and Southern California I was always exposed to street vendors. This lead me to experiment in different creative forms and businesses and while they didn’t take me anywhere, I did learn a lot and continued to explore different roads. Later on, together with my wife, Jennifer, we continued to explore different options and had a few ideas here and there. We wanted to create something with a combination of both our ideas and our own personal touches. The small town in Mexico I grew up in was always surrounded by street vendors and it was so inspiring to me I came up with the idea of creating a mobile coffee cart and bringing that childhood memory and innovating it. After doing an extensive amount of research, I determined that a coffee bike is a low start up in operation costs – and who doesn’t love coffee? I had watched numerous YouTube tutorial videos about learning the basics of selling coffee and I wanted to add a little something else so I started learning the science behind the nitrogen infusion process. It was almost at the end of the pandemic and things were starting to get back to normal. Our dog Nico had passed away in July of 2021 and it took a HUGE hit on us that we both felt we weren’t ready to let his memory go. We decided to launch Nico’s Nitro Cold Brew Coffee in the fall of 2021
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?
We are still learning as we are growing. When we started this business we had faced some obstacles due to being in unfamiliar territory. We had to emerge ourselves into searching and learn about the logistics of setting up a sustainable system in such a small space. We had to educate ourselves on tap systems and nitrogen tanks, which were all new to us. Adapting the bike to the Public Health Department’s operational requirements was very frustrating at times. We also faced a few challenges with the coffee bike itself and had experienced technical difficulties with our POS system. Weather is also a huge factor with our business and we face days where we can’t go out. We do not consider ourselves experts (yet) and are still learning. As long as we stay focused, we will continue to learn and grow.
P.S. It still takes us 30 minutes to back up the trailer. LOL
We’ve been impressed with Nico’s Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, 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?
We are Nico’s Nitro Cold Brew Coffee! We offer cold brew and nitro infused coffee straight from a stout faucet to add smoothness. Our refrigeration in the bike is powered by an electric/solar generator and we are fully sustainable. We proudly serve Third Coast Coffee, a local organic fair-trade roaster. We want to offer the customer a unique and different experience at their doorstep, local community parks, pops-ups, private parties and etc. We are proudly the first mobile coffee bike that actually scrolls through neighborhoods of Manor. Besides just selling coffee, we love to build a connection with the community. We take pride in our project, aesthetically designing the bike together which is a representation of who we are. We want to be part of the small business growth that is happening in our community and inspire others to a non-conventional way of creating a business.
What does success mean to you?
Success is attempting something, failing but not giving up. To keep striving for a single goal at a time and to always believe in yourself.
Contact Info:
- Email: nicosnitrocoldbrewcoffee@gmail.com
- Instagram: Nicosnitrocoldbrewcoffee
- Facebook: Nicosnitrocoldbrewcoffee
