OSO COFFEE CO.
OSO Coffee Co. is a new coffee shop that is so close to officially opening it's doors in Houston's East End, aka 2nd Ward or Eado. This area of town is on the immediate East side of Downtown. We began build out in the Summer of 2019 and have completed about 85% of build out and construction.
We had hoped to be completed and ready to open our doors by the Fall of 2020, but Covid-19 put a halt to a lot of shop progress and funding. This Indiegogo Campaign, is our effort to make up for the remaining funding, asking friends, family, and the community for any help or donations. Donations will help OSO with the following:
- Final build out of prep-kitchen and other minor repairs to the house
- Kitchen plumbing & grease trap installation
- Kitchen fixtures, 3 compartment sink, hand wash sink
- Commercial Fridge and Ice machine
- Misc Kitchen equipment
- Misc shop furniture, i.e. custom bar height table & chairs, retail fixtures, custom patio furniture / lounge furniture
- (2) Commercial Espresso Grinders. Mahlkonig K30 grinder
- (1) Commercial batch grinder. Mahlkonig EK43
- (1) Commercial Dual Coffee Brewer. Fetco CBS-2132 XTS Twin
- 2 Group Espresso Machine (La Marzocco Linea PB, Victoria White Eagle, or La Marzocco GB5)
- 3 - 4 months of operating capital
- Various occupancy & city permits
OSO Coffee Co. is located at 2603 Navigation in Houston. The shop's founder, Hector Garcia, named the shop after his mom, Yolanda, who's nickname is "Oso". Oso means "bear" or "mama bear" in Spanish. As the oldest of 4 sisters, she helped raise them all, and this shop is being built in her honor. Yolanda turns 82 years old October 31st, 2020 and we plan on revealing the shop to her before this date.
WHAT DOES "OSO" MEAN?
"OSO" is the Spanish word for "bear" or in this case "mama bear". It's the nickname of the Founder's mother, Maria Yolanda Garcia, who will be celebrate her 82nd birthday on October 31, 2020. Yolanda is the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters and has always been the matriarch of the family. She was forced to become the "mama bear" at an early age, to care and watch over her baby sisters and brothers after their mother left them with an aunt.
To this day, her nickname has been "Oso" and this coffee shop is built in her honor. She isn't aware of the shop yet and our plan is to surprise her with a shop reveal before her October 31st birthday. Pics and video of that reveal will come soon.
HOW MUCH DOES OSO NEED?
Our fundraising goal for this campaign is $60,000.
This is a conservative number, but it helps cover everything listed above and gives us a little "cushion" for the first 2 months of operation.
Our largest perk is set at $5,000 and if you'd like to contribute more than that, please contact us and we can discuss and provide more information.
THE PERKS
We have created a variety of perks that reward a wide range of donation amounts. Whether you donate $25 or $500, you will see that each perk has been carefully curated to represent your donation amount.
Note that the OSO perks are not "equal trades" for each dollar amount, but we show our appreciation by providing more collateral as the donation amounts increase.
SPONSOR SPECIFIC ITEMS
In addition to OSO Perks, we have provided a few items in the list as specific pieces of equipment that you can sponsor. For example, if you'd like to provide the funds needed to purchase one of the grinders or brewers on our list, you can choose that option in our list of perks.
We won't have every item listed as a "sponsorship" item, but if you'd like to know what other specific needs we have, please contact us at info@oso.coffee.
OSO'S IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY
Though we are not officially open for business, we have been hosting weekend "pop ups" on either Saturday or Sunday from 9am - 1pm. These popups have allowed us to meet our neighbors, build some hype, and give visitors a sneak peak of the shop. Every popup is packed and we can already see how busy and popular OSO Coffee shop will be.
OSO will be the only coffee shop on Navigation Blvd, which is a several mile stretch of high traffic road between Downtown and the Ship Channel. The shop is surrounded by a variety of restaurants and a booming neighborhood, which contribute to OSO's traffic on the weekends. There is also a Sunday morning farmers market that takes place in the Navigation esplanade, across the street from OSO, that contributes to our shop traffic. New home develop is constantly growing and new businesses are rising up along Navigation Blvd.
GIVING BACK
OSO Coffee will stand out as a business that will always be giving back to the community and we'll do that through two of our biggest loves: dogs & bikes.
With the owner being the creator of two of Houston's largest and longest running dog festivals, DogPop and Puppies for Breakfast, OSO will continually use a portion of profits to give back to dog rescue and help homeless dogs in the various Wards that surround the shop.
We also have a passion for cycling and anything bike friendly, so we hope to serve as a hub for the cycling community. We will also give back to youth in the greater downtown area through our very own bike charity movement called The Byke Project, which started in 2000 and continues to date. Through this project we provide free bike repair and new bikes to those less fortunate.
With this said, know that your donation will go to a business that will go above and beyond simply providing food and drinks to the neighborhood.
WHAT DOES "OSO" MEAN?
"OSO" is the Spanish word for "bear" or in this case "mama bear". It's the nickname of the Founder's mother, Maria Yolanda Garcia, who will be celebrate her 82nd birthday on October 31, 2020. Yolanda is the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters and has always been the matriarch of the family. She was forced to become the "mama bear" at an early age, to care and watch over her baby sisters and brothers after their mother left them with an aunt.
To this day, her nickname has been "Oso" and this coffee shop is built in her honor. She isn't aware of the shop yet and our plan is to surprise her with a shop reveal before her October 31st birthday. Pics and video of that reveal will come soon.
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ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Hector Garcia is a Houston native and has been an active member of the community for over 25 years. Through his love for people, animals, and cycling, Hector has always looked for ways to give back to the city through the things that he loves. He continues to do that today and is now adding coffee to his list of passions.
Hector developed his passion for coffee after being surrounded by other enthusiasts, roasters, baristas, and other coffee shop owners. He immersed himself into the industry several years ago and in the process of working on a bike shop / coffee concept, he discovered the little bungalow on Navigation Blvd. This little space birthed the idea for OSO Coffee and Hector still has future plans to launch the BykeShop Coffee concept.
As mentioned, Hector has worked to give back to this city that he loves through his passions and he's created a variety of memorable brands and events in the process. Below are a list of accomplishments and passion projects:
PUPPIES FOR BREAKFAST: Houston's largest and longest running dog festivals, created in 2010. Will celebrate 10 years in the Spring of 2021.
DOGPOP: the little brother dog fest to Puppies for Breakfast. DogPop has quickly grown to be Houston's second largest dog festival, each giving back to dog rescue and dog charities in Houston.
HTX BIKE FEST: Houston's only bicycle festival, created in 2012 with cycling partner Cisco Nira. This bike fest has been the city's largest bicycle festival, making its run from 2012 - 2016. This event was designed and created to bring the cycling community together and give back through the industry.
THE BYKE PROJECT: In 2000, Hector and friends created this charitable project as a way to give back to low income areas of the city through free bike repair and new bike donations. The project continues to date and OSO coffee will give back through this project once officially open.
