Spreading joy one coffee cup at a time

Owners of Green Arrow Coffee, a coffee truck who serves craft coffee drinks, smoothies and old-fashioned cinnamon rolls, Elizabeth and Gabriel Martinez said the business was made for more than just their love of coffee. They wanted their coffee to cause a chain reaction of joy in their customers.

“The whole goal is to get people out of the monotonous of life and all the trials and tribulations they’re going through … (and) when they leave, they leave with a joyful heart and leave with happiness,” Gabriel said. “Then they take that with them wherever they go. It’s literally just spreading joy.”

“One of our biggest hearts for the business is to touch them spiritually,” Elizabeth said. “We want them to walk away with a smile on their face. We want them to walk away feeling happier.”

The couple shared that one of the most rewarding parts is when someone walks up to the truck, looking down, and the Martinezes start talking to them while making their drink, and the customer leaves smiling.

“That’s what we’re all about,” Elizabeth said. “We are all about the people.”

They hope to own a physical location for their coffee business one day and for it to be a place where friends and families can come together. But the couple is taking small steps in the business – as they have from the beginning.

As a child, Elizabeth learned to love coffee from her dad, who took her on frequent coffee dates. When she was 14, she began volunteering at her church’s coffee shop, and when she turned 16, she was hired at the shop and later promoted to assistant manager.

When she wasn’t making coffee at church, she was making coffee at home. Elizabeth’s sister had given her some syrups and bought her a $50 Mr. Coffee roaster.

As the youngest of 10 children, Elizabeth’s house didn’t have a lot of extra counter space, so she kept her coffee supplies in a box in her closet, pulling them out every day to make everyone in the family coffee and packing it back up again. The box eventually evolved to an old TV cart and finally a coffee bar she made from wood with her brother.

Elizabeth also ran a coffee blog called “Pure Coffee,” where she discussed everything she had learned about coffee.

When she was pregnant with her first child, Elizabeth quit her fulltime job to stay at home with him but still wanted something to do. While owning a coffee shop had always been her dream, she had wanted to wait until she had every detail figured out. Gabriel, her sister and her mom pushed her to just go for it.

Initially, the plan was to sell coffee beans at the farmers market and then work their way to selling and making drinks, but Gabriel insisted they needed to also sell drinks along with coffee beans.

Gabriel always wanted to own a business because of his entrepreneurial spirit but never knew what type of business. With Elizabeth’s heart for a coffee shop, it worked out, he said.

“We make the perfect team because I would not be anywhere near the business with where it is today if it wasn’t for him,” Elizabeth said.

The couple started with a booth at the Waxahachie Farmers Market in 2021. In 2022, they purchased a commercial food trailer and began serving all of Ellis County in both private and public events.

“It’s been difficult,” Gabriel said of their journey. “It hasn’t been easy.”

The Martinezes want to go through the process debt-free, which is why they started small with the booth, earning enough money to then buy the truck. Now, they are saving money for a physical location.

While Gabriel tends to prefer jumping in headfirst, he is glad they are going through the process slowly, learning more about owning a small business along the way.

The Martinezes often have their two children in the truck with them. Gabriel said it’s one of his favorite parts – getting to work and spend more time with his family.

“Our loyal customers have literally watched my son grow since he was 3 months old,” Elizabeth said.

Green Arrow Coffee uses only organic ingredients for every item on the menu from the coffee beans to the syrups to the cinnamon rolls. They want it to be the healthiest version for their customers, Gabriel said.

Elizabeth said a portion of their sales go to the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending religious liberty for Americans.

You can find Green Arrow Coffee at the Waxahachie Farmers Market every Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and at various locations in Ennis throughout the week. For more information, visit https://www.greenarrowcoffee.com/ or follow @GreenArrowCoffee on Facebook and Instagram.

Originally published online July 17, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/spreading-joy-one-coffee-cup-at-a-time/article_8961aa4c-24cd-11ee-9749-73373f1a5fb8.html