Meet Dylan Pelle | Photographer, Cinematographer, Coffee Roaster, & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dylan Pelle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dylan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I started Mongo Coffee Roasting Co., my thought process really only consisted of one main goal. I was getting tired of the lack of high-quality hometown coffee shops in the South Bay. I noticed this gap in the local coffee market; you could either get a cheap and boring cup of coffee from a large corporation, or spend an arm and a leg for a “premium” cup of coffee at a pretentious coffee house, neither of which felt like home to me. There are a few Mom and Pop coffee shops in my area, but where they thrive in ambience and atmosphere, they unfortunately lack in quality coffee. So one day I started to day dream about what my ideal coffee shop would be, and what I landed on was a place that would incorporate all the best qualities without compromise – Premium organic coffee for a fair price in an environment that’s connected to the local community. But opening a place like that doesn’t happen overnight, so I started with the basics: roasting and packaging premium organic coffee beans. After months and months of trial and error, I finally had a good little operation going, so I decided to pull the trigger and start my business. Now I sell my bags of coffee online through my website and at a couple local markets, with my ultimate goal being to open a brick and mortar shop.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always perceived myself as walking a thin line between the whole “left-brain/right-brain” thing, and I think that is why I originally landed on photography and cinematography as my chosen art forms. To me, operating a camera is half artist and half technician, because you need the creative eye and mind to know what you want, but you also need to operate a machine with intuitive understanding in order to achieve your desired results. I say all that because I also think there is a relevancy to why I started a coffee roasting company. Roasting coffee, to me, is a lot like photography – you need to operate a machine to get your desired results, but within operating your coffee roaster there is a ton of room to be creative and play around with settings to get different flavor profiles. With my camera, I shoot what I want, not what I think others expect, and the same goes for my coffee; I roast the kind of coffee that I want to drink. What excites me the most right now is that I’ve been able to build this small business entirely based on a DIY mentality and so far, being able to do exactly what I want. and since then there’s been plenty of positive feedback. My next step is to start brewing and selling my coffee out of my old VW Vanagon, which I’ve completely renovated myself per the health department standards. I just want people to see my logo and my old yellow van and associate it with the place I grew up in – LA’s South Bay.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a tough one, because the South Bay has spots for every type of mood. But the one thing you can’t deny is that it’s all about the beach. I’d start with either one of the many awesome breakfast burritos in the area (Amigo’s, Phanny’s, Rod’s, Brothers, Wilson Burger, the list goes on) or one of the island-syle breakfasts at Beach Hut in Torrance. Let me back up for a second; If there is a decent swell hitting, the day would definitely start with a dawn patrol looking for a good spot to surf, followed by breakfast. From there, it could go a couple different directions. You could stay near the water with a relaxing bike ride or skate on the strand, lounge on the sand soaking up some rays, play some volleyball or just haunt one of the beachside bars. If the beach ins’t your thing, then you could always go on a nice hike up in Palos Verdes and get some amazing views of Los Angeles, explore the shifting land at Portuguese bend and Sunken City, just get lost for a few hours – There’s plenty of interesting history in the area! After that, lunch is probably in order. There are countless places you can go for a delicious lunch – Granny’s Grocery in Hermosa for an amazing sandwich, Paisano’s for a slice of pizza, or keep it veggie-friendly at the Green Temple. But right now, my favorite lunch spot is Proudly Serving down at King Harbor. They have the best smash burgers I’ve ever had, and they’re attached to a taproom, and you gotta get a beer with your burger. After lunch, you’re probably gonna want to rest up, put some aloe on your sunburn, and maybe have an afternoon cup of Mongo Coffee, because at least one local brewery is in order before we hit up one of the many many great restaurants in the area. There’s seriously a restaurant or food truck for every mood, its hard to pick one! The night will probably end with some live music at one of the local bar venues.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Honestly, all my friends and family deserve credit, with a special shoutout to my girlfriend who was the first person to tell me to stop talking about it and start actually doing it. I feel very grateful that all the people close to me only had encouraging things to say about me starting a business.

Website: www.mongocoffee.com

Instagram: @mongocoffeeroasting_co

Facebook: Mongo Coffee Roasting Co.