NAMPA, Idaho — So how does running a tire shop translate into selling coffee?
"Ok Don, a little secret. I wasn't much of a coffee drinker before we got into the coffee business."
That is an honest answer from Ryan Stewart when asked what he knew about coffee before his family took the reins of a popular coffee chain in the Treasure Valley.
The Stewarts were living in Wyoming running a Big-O tire store when one day, while on a business trip to Boise, he realized the weather here suited him just a little bit better than Riverton, Wyoming. So they packed their bags and moved to the Treasure Valley, thinking he would do the same in Idaho. That never happened. But after a short stint running some self-serve car washes, an opportunity presented itself called Moxie Java.
"We didn't necessarily want to own a coffee shop, but we were really interested in the process behind the warehouse and distribution, the cool stuff and really geeking out on how that stuff is made."
Stewart is all in on the "Buy Idaho" theory, meaning buying and selling locally is a win-win situation. As a matter of fact, he buys the sugar for the powder that's used in his specialty drinks from the Amalgamated Sugar Plantin Nampa, which just happens to be right across the road from his warehouse.
"That is such a unique thing to Idaho, that we're so rich in agriculture and so rich in production, that we can partner together to support our industry and employ our people. It really is pretty cool."
And if you ever run into Ryan at one of his Moxie Java's, feel free to ask him about the life of your treads - because he still knows tires, just like he knows all about the perfect blend of coffee.
