Meet Justin Huffmon | Co-Owner, Coffee Junkie, Plants and Cocktails Rock

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

Hi Justin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It kind of happened on accident. I was working my day job in the office above where we opened our first roots location in Ruidoso, and the lady who had owned the store below notified me that she was closing her business. I asked if I could see the space, then called my wife, who has a ton of experience as a retail entrepreneur and we decided to open a new concept as a passion project. To help collaborate we brought in my mother and her husband and the end result was roots. It’s a collection of our vices. Outside of selecting our vices, we had one rule: purchase from small business owners across the US.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think that my experience leading up to becoming an entrepreneur was critical to my personal development. Out side of my bachelors and masters, I have worked for a lot of really great companies that have helped me develop really particular skill sets that apply as an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you have to wear a lot of hats. And as a result you have to have a wide variety of skill sets. It’s really been a lot of the professional development that I’ve had through the years that have helped me have the skills necessary to become a business owner. From the first server jobs I had that taught me critical interpersonal communication skills, to my time as a salesman in the cell phone industry, which taught me to critically solve problems and learn valuable sales techniques, to my time overseeing marketing for a ski resort and a resort destination in the mountains of New Mexico, which taught me marketing skills and analytics analysis. All of these things have helped to form who I am as a business owner and how I approach business.

The most critical component of what we do is the people who work for us. Without them we would be nothing as a business. We value our team and believe a rising tide lifts all ships and hope that we can grow together. And for those that don’t stay with the company, we hope that we can send them into their next endeavor with a skill that they didn’t have prior to coming to us. Without our wonderful staff we would be nothing.

At roots, we pride ourselves in promoting our vices (Coffee, Plants, Cocktails and Local Artisans) and we purchase and support small artisans within the communities we work, and across the US.

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?
Golden Colorado is an absolute gem. There are few places in the state of Colorado that match Golden. It has some wonderful places to eat, drink and shop. We love the fact that it is so walkable and there is so much to do in a small area down on Washington Ave. Definitely check out Clear Creek whether via a walk along the creek or via tube during the summer. Enjoy breakfast spots like Sassafras, grab a buffalo burger at the famous Buffalo Rose and snag dinner at one of our favorite nighttime eateries like Abejas. Don’t forget to check out the world famous Coors Brewery Tour and then pop into local favorite Mountain Toad for some local craft beer. There’s tons of great shopping along Washington Ave. The historic Foss building is home to a handful of great shops including Old Barrel Tea Company and roots.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I give all the credit to my wife and mother. They are incredible entrepreneurs and are co-owners of Old Barrel Tea Company, which operates 10 locations between New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. They have impeccable taste and are wonderful female entrepreneurs that have built a wonderfully strong business. We were really able to leverage their brilliance in building up roots from 1 to 3 locations now.

I want to give a shout out to my alma mater’s, The University of New Mexico and Louisiana State University, where I learned to analytically and critically evaluate businesses.

Website: https://www.rootsnm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootsnm/

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