Meet Steve Chang | Entrepreneur & Coffee Appreciator

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

Hi Steve, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
“If you build it… they will come.” or “You can live the dream.” or “if you believe hard enough, it will happen.” or “pursue your passions and all will be ok.”

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Copa Vida is a 7 cafe and 1 roasting wholesale business that started 7 years ago in Pasadena. We are a specialty coffee, tea and food company that focuses on providing craft products with great service for the purposes of hosting an environment that promotes community. While there are many great 3rd wave coffee shops in LA and San Diego, Copa initially set itself apart from others by being one of the firsts to have a full food program without losing its emphasis or focus on coffee and tea quality. Since then, our focus has evolved. While we continue to emphasize the quality of our products, we no longer pursue the “perfect cup of coffee” as our only goal. In fact, our greatest sense of accomplishment comes when we know that we were part of creating an amazing experience for our customers. Sometimes that is accomplished by providing a great cup or plate. However, most times, that experience comes from a combination of things that starts with service and ambience then finishes with quality. Ultimately, we feel that we have become experts at creating amazing everyday experiences that helped to build community where people feel welcomed. That’s what has allowed us to grow to this size so quickly. The path to where we are now hasn’t been easy at all. Along the way, we faced financial challenges, geographical challenges and even challenges to our purpose and mission. Though we all thought it was about making great coffee, tea and food, we realized that those things were the easiest and most fun parts of the job. Though we set out to be more than 1 coffee shop, our growth soon out paced our ability to manage it. Aside from the financial challenges in cash flow that quick growth brings, we also felt the difficulties in maintaining quality and culture as we brought on more new people and opened in new markets. Not only was it difficult to find the right people, it was also difficult to agree on what Copa represented. Though we are still on the path to learning what it means to be Copa Vida, we have grown tremendously since we opened. We were able to add new people to the team that helped bring in new perspectives and create better systems to deal with everything from quality to service and accountability. While we feel we are far from finished and we can be our own worst critics, we have been able to take a good look at where we are and see that we have grown and improved over the years. As for challenges, I don’t know that one ever overcomes a challenge. I think one either learns from it and grows to deal with it better the next time it comes or one does not learn and repeats the same mistake again and again. I also have learned that the “what” isn’t as important as the “why”. “What” we want to achieve will continue to change with time and conditions. The “why” we want to achieve is far more important in getting you there. As for Copa Vida, the why has always been to create beautiful cafes where people can come together to create community. We are stewards of an amazing experience that allows everyone to feel welcomed. We work hard to be approachable and authentic in what we do so that our customers can find a home in our space.

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 definitely take my friend on a regional tour of LA.. which I think reflects its greatest feature: diversity. Downtown – Staple Center (Lakers!) Jewelry Market and stop at Grand Central Market for breakfast and coffee – Chavez Ravine (Dodgers!) then Chinatown for site seeing and trinket shopping and stop at Phillipe’s for lunch – Art’s District for walking around, coffee and dinner and shopping at J-Town Mid-Wilshire – Start at the Grove/Farmers Market – Museums (MOCA, Anderson Automotive) – Food at K-Town (as many places as you can!) West Side – Malibu for Ocean view and drive – Venice for people watching and coffee – Finish in Hollywood in for that “experience” Torrance Area – Great Japanese food … gotta stop at the most amazing food court (Mitsua Market) and at least 5 great noodle places San Gabriel Valley – Best Chinese Food in the country is in this region.. the hole in the walls have lines! Try Newport Seafood, Din Tai Fung and Mandarine Deli East LA/Silverlake – A daylong trip into different parts of East LA, including Highland Park, Silverlake and Echo Park – Stop at every cafe/restaurant with “&”, shop at boutique stores that have “one of a kind” items. If you didn’t have at least 3 cups of coffee, you didn’t do it right. – Make sure you hit up two or more food trucks (one must be a taco truck). Glendale/Pasadena – Find an Armenian Restaurant in Glendale… some of the best in the world! – Make sure to stop at Portos – Old Town Pasadena, Rose Bowl and of course, Copa Vida to finish the trip!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Copa Vida Team and Elena Chang

Website: copa-vida.com
Instagram: copa_vida
Facebook: @copavida

Image Credits
Jeff Newton