Meet John and Davina Pope | Co-Founders of San Juan Brews

We had the good fortune of connecting with John and Davina Pope and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John and Davina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We started our journey by building a coffee food truck that was intended to be used at summer festivals. It was going to be a side gig to fund vacations, home improvements, etc. After spending the winter of 2020 building the truck, we had festivals scheduled from Mid March through October. 3 days after our health department approval, COVID hit and we were shut down. Davina pivoted the intended use and turned the truck into the ice cream man version of coffee, and drove door to door and business to business.. Customers love our model and product and started asking when/if we would open a brick and mortar. so, 6 short months later, we went on the search for a building to lease and our current location was the 1 we toured. It was previously a music venue, that was 90% built out for our intended use.
After a small amount of demo and cleaning, we launched San Juan Brews in January 2021.
Because our current facility is a large space, we expanded on our coffee menu to offer a taphouse, and now also offer cocktails and wine. We are in current process of installing a cold kitchen, and before the end of the year will be opening Forage at San Juan Brews which will be a Farm to Table kitchen working with local grower and ranchers.
What started as a side gig has allowed John to retire from his 25 year corporate job and we now spend our days pouring coffee and spirits, and making customer smile
Life is good!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I (John) have spent the last 20+ years working in the corporate world for a Medical company. My roles were anywhere from purchasing, training, marketing, compliance, and top level management where I ran the western region of the company overseeing 15 locations across 5 states and over 100 employees. I would like to believe this has given us a bit of an advantage as I am very comfortable managing P&L, financials, establishing vendor accounts, negotiating leases, and overseeing staff development.
All of my previous roles have translated well into our daily business model at SJB

Davina ran her own massage business for several years and worked within the school district as a health technician. these rolls gave her some great business management tools and people skills that have also been critical in our growth strategies for SJB

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?
We would most definitely start a 2 of our favorite spots in Montrose that also are owned by our very good friends, Phil and Melanie Friesthmuth, Horsefly Brewing Company and Phelanies Speakeasy. Phil and Melanie were critical in the beginning stages of he food truck and they sold us their old truck and allowed us to piggy back off the vendor accounts to get our truck business launched. They are always a great support for questions and are always available to be a sounding board when we need them. Amazing people and great business here in Montrose

Secondly, we would head to the Black Canyon and spend some time on thw water and taking in this beautiful canyon system

Lastly we would head to Ouray and Silverton and spend a couple days sampling the best of Western Colorado

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost our Father God. We are unapologetically a Christian owned business that puts God first in everything we do. The blessing of our lives would not be possible without him on our side.

Secondly, our kids and families. Without their love, and ongoing encouragement, this crazy idea may have never got off the ground.

The City and County of Montrose. Without their support of our visions, we would not have been able to make the progress we have today. Both entities have an amazing dedicated staff that have always been available to help and answer questions

Eric Pulumbo of Cimarron Coffee Roasters. He is our roaster, and the genius behind the amazing coffee that we serve in our business. eric is one of the best in the industry and we are fortunate to have his business right here in Montrose.

Lastly, our amazing customers. You all have believed in us and our business, and as such have changed our lives forever. We pro0mise to give you only the best of us every day, and we will continue to strive to be the best in Montrose!

Website: www.sanjuanbrews.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanjuanbrews/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanjuanbrews/