Meet Pablomanuel Maldonado | Owner and operator of The Caffeinated Cart

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

Hi Pablomanuel, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think what makes us special was that we weren’t always there.
We weren’t like a coffee shop where you can find everyday. Walk into and get yourself favorite drink all the time.

We became something for people to look forward to.
Something people had to wait just to try again and that was special to me because I would see the same faces every time and they’d shared how they waited for this event for us to we pop up and that was heart warming.

I didn’t go to college. I didn’t pick a career with high salary.
I followed my heart and chose something that was special to me. Something I had passion for because of the way it was introduced into my life.
Hearing the olla de cafe was the fist thing I would hear growing up.
Waking up to seeing my dad and my grandpa make their coffee.
It wasn’t just the smell of coffee in the morning. It was the excitement of being able to share special moments like these with loved ones over a cup of coffee.
At the end of the day it was just coffee. We were drinking, but what meant more was who we were sharing it with. And that’s what we try to do with everyone who comes out to our pop ups.

We try to give them an experience to take home and let them know we will always welcome them with open arms.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I think what makes us special was that we arent always there.
We weren’t like a coffee shop where you can find everyday. Walk into and get yourself favorite drink all the time.

We became something for people to look forward to.
Something people had to wait just to try again and that was special to me because I would see the same faces every time and they’d shared how they waited for this event for us to we pop up and that was heart warming.

We are human who sometimes forget things, but we never stop going above and beyond for the people.

We added cereal to our famous lattes because someone wanted an adult breakfast and that’s what we created them.

I’m proud of where we are now. I’m proud of the sell out events we have and the relationships we have built. Building the coffee family we had now wasn’t easy.

No one knew who we were. Our marketing sucked and we often got asked “what do you guys sell?”

Sucks to hear when you’re trying to promote a mobile coffee shop.

We learned from our mistakes, listened to many voices and took ALOT of recommendations on what we could do to get better.
The people wanted us to grow, and we had to give them just that.

My parents came here as immigrants. They had nothing. Yet now in their 70s can say they have had everything.

I’m here to make sure their sacrifices were all worth it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to a coffee crawl over Los Angeles and introduce them to my favorite drinks!

Nothing excites me more than seeing other people do amazing things!
It’s inspiring and it becomes the fire that lifts up our urge to really go out there and push!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
With the help of my parents, Ernestina and Alfredo Maldonado. They really helped me grow up to be the hard working entrepreneur I am today. Coffee was a connection between me and my family. Our logo you’ll often find a skeleton. It was what we grew up with being Latino. In our pop ups we carry a large backdrop with an ofrenda of my grandfather because he was the biggest inspiration to my introduction to coffee.

Starting the business was tough. It was hard to know where to go and how to be successful. With the help of other of my family, my community and the strangers that helped The Caffeinated Cart when it began, I give it all thanks to them. They were strangers at first but now are huge supporters. Crazy how people you don’t know help you more than everyone else you think would. It was special. The beauty of speciality coffee is great because we are all trying to achieve success. With the help of Picaresca, a local specialty coffee shop from Boyle heights, they helped me established what I wanted The Caffeinated Cart to be.
We all love wooden stools and fancy minimalist bars. But what else was there behind minimal colors and bragging rights about who had what?
Picaresca had a coffee shop that made you feel welcomed. Welcomed as you were in your abuelas kitchen.
That’s what I wanted to give the people.

We wanted to give the people an experience. A feeling of home. And we strive to do that between the 1-2minute engagements we get throughout every customer.

It was special for us for them to give us their time.

So big shout out to our supporters

Website: https://www.instagram.com/thecaffeinatedcart?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaffeinatedcart?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Other: Instagram @thecaffeinatedcart
TikTok @thecaffeinatedcart

Image Credits
Huge shout out to our photographer Victor Pino @_vpino