Today we’d like to introduce you to Candi Storey.
Hi Candi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my business with a long-time dream of owning a coffee shop. Not knowing anything about business, I dove right into opening one. I love experiencing the vibe of coffee shops, especially when the coffee is good! Lol. I wanted to create a space where everyone who walked through the door immediately felt like they were family. My goal also was to craft amazing coffee that stood out from others. The name of my business reflecting my goal. Fika, a Swedish word, paying tribute to my Swedish grandmother. Fika means to take a break from the day and enjoy a cup of coffee. To have a conversation with a friend or stranger. I wanted my customers to stop for a moment when they’re drinking my coffee and let all their stresses and worries melt away as they drink that coffee. Our daily lives are often nonstop chaos as it is, and we take simple moments for granted. I taught myself to roast coffee, transitioning my coffee shop into a coffee roastery. I had no idea how to roast coffee when I started. I just knew my passion for people, and coffee would come together through the love I put into the beans. Coffee makes people happy. And a really good coffee can bring a priceless joy.
Having a business is always a work in progress. I’m still not where I’d like to be, but every email, text, phone call, or in-person comment about how much my coffee is loved keeps me going to get to the next level. I want to inspire others to pursue their own passions. And put their all into whatever they feel called to do.
Growing up in foster care, I never thought I’d be where I am now. And I would love for others in situations like that who feel that there is no hope for their future to dream big and find that inner courage to triumph through tragedy.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all! Financial struggles were always at the helm. Being a single mother with no family or other support, it was up to me to provide both my personal and business obligations. I wanted to give up many times.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Fika Java?
My company is called Fika Java. I am a small-batch craft coffee roaster. I’m a wholesaler with no physical location, providing coffee products to restaurants, bars, hotels, grocery, and convenient stores, etc.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Many cheerleaders along the way… I’d say the person who sticks out the most is Laura Elder, Editor in Chief of COAST MAGAZINE. She has no idea how much she’s impacted me. When I first opened my business, the magazine wrote an article about Fika Java. I was deviated when I read the opening line about me growing up in foster homes! I wasn’t something I wanted the world to know… but it ended up being a pivotal moment for me. Using my childhood trauma as a way to encourage others to be hopeful and succeed. Many people have me praise and admiration for overcoming statistics that could’ve been my path. I even received a letter from a guy in prison in FLORIDA who said he also in foster care and proud of me for what I’m doing. It made me stop and give myself more credit that I am where I am and not where he is.
