Meet Jonathan + Ahlise Velasco | Coffee Cart Pop-up

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan + Ahlise Velasco and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan + Ahlise, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Well to start, It’s All Good Coffee is run by me (Jonathan) and my wife (Ahlise). Luckily for us we have a LOT of things in common (as a married couple should!) and one of those things was a desire to be freed from having to work under someone – we wanted to be our own bosses! So we started looking at things we felt strongly about or enjoyed most. There were a few options, but during the pandemic nothing came closer than coffee. During our time knowing one another, our taste in (and love for) coffee had also grown with us. We figured “why not?!” and just jumped right in! We wanted to share our passion for a more personalized cup of coffee with our community and friends; while having the freedom and mobility to also be parents, a married couple, and chase other ideas and goals we are passionate about.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We believe that coffee in itself is an artistic endeavor. It’s a craft that has to be honed over time, mistakes, and effort. It’s as Aristotle once said, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Which works twice as well considering the art we dabble in is meant to be ingested one cup at a time.

We work in the magical artistry that is coffee. It’s almost a cliche – “meeting over coffee”, using it as a ritual to start your day, or as an excuse to get out and do something, but we see it as something more. We are a vegan pop-up coffee cart business, hosting a rotating selection of roasters, that started just a couple of years ago now and we have been all over Southern California. Ahlise has been a barista for 10+ years, and trained me (Jonathan) in the caffeinated ways as well. This was not an overnight or orthodox process, but we are proud of what we have achieved with this time. We have learned to trust the process, and grow wherever we feel we should.

Everything you see – from the art, the machines, the ideas, the customers – were organically grown, came together and/or created by us and our close friends. We are just two hard-working parents, with a love for family, friends and coffee, trying to grow with the community around us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles is a beautiful city, and there are so many places to go visit, we would need an entire day just to talk about it, but here are a few of our favorites from a vegan and coffee-forward perspective:

Coffee Rec’s: Sharp Specialty Coffee, Boxx Coffee Roasters, and Ondo Coffee.

Foodie Rec’s: El Compa Vegano, BESTIES Vegan Paradise, and Gokoku Ramen.

Visiting Rec’s: Any local event or festivals (Farmer’s Markets in Silverlake and Echo Park, for example), supporting local businesses and thrift shopping to get a feel for the city, the beautiful beaches, and just walking around Downtown and enjoying the views and historical landmarks.

Hang-out rec’s: Beelman’s Bar, Packing House in Anaheim, Frank & Son’s Collectible Show, Griffith Park (anywhere there’s a good hike/view to be had, really)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would like to give a huge shout-out to our friends and family, whose unwavering support allowed us to be where we are. We would like to give an especially obnoxiously loud “thank you” to our friends Joanna, Laddy, Nader and Kelton! Joanna was instrumental in our pop-up having the more “professional” look it did when we needed a cart (thank you!). Laddy and Nader have been to nearly every single one of our pop-ups to-date, always hyping us up and believing in our vision. Kelton allowed us to host our first “Friends and Family” event in his front yard. Huge thanks to all of you from the bottom of our coffee-laden hearts!

Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsallgood.coffee/

Other: Email: admin@itsallgood.coffee