Ryan Bros Coffee.
This is not just a slogan for Ryan Bros Coffee, it is the way in which the family lives and how they have run their business for over twenty years.
In 2002, the Ryan Bros made a choice to move into the Barrio Logan to replace a favorite local restaurant on the corner of Main Street that had been there since the 1970’s, The Barrio was known as a part of San Diego that carried the stigma of being an area of poverty and gang activity. The Ryan’s looked at the Barrio as an opportunity to step into a neighborhood that lacked what other parts of San Diego offered, a local coffee shop: a place that would bring together family values, a sense of community including culture and diversity.
Initially the Ryan Bros Coffee shop was not welcomed, but the Ryan Bros pushed forward and continued to demonstrate dedication to the community. They did this through offering local elementary schools tours to the students, as well as sharing with them about entrepreneurship. The Ryan Bros would provide the shop’s conference room at no charge for private meetings and after-hours, the shop as a place to hold special events. Along with this outreach to the community, they employed the locals.
As the community began to embrace the “Ryan Bros” for who and what they were, they demonstrated the importance of giving to people less fortunate. The Ryans took personal responsibility and held themselves accountable as a business whose goals were set in values and doing the right thing, not greed. Eventually the city would also recognize the Ryan’s for pioneering the growth of the Barrio.
In 2014 the Port of San Diego recognized the Ryan Bros Coffee shop as the official meeting site for the planning of the Barrio Logan Gateway sign. In 2015 the City Council and Mayor officially made November 8th to be recognized as “Ryan Bros Coffee Day”.
Ryan Bros continues to exemplify who they are through their actions and showing the importance of making positive changes in the Barrio Logan community and the region.
