Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan & Christina.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The history behind Ra Coffee Company actually started with a 20 year dream of Christina Guzman. Coming from Washington state, great tasting coffee is a way of life. In 2015 Dan and Christina Guzman move to South Carolina from Washington. At the time it was not to start a coffee company but actually working in the aerospace industry supporting Boeing. However, the dream of starting and owning Christina’s own coffee shop was always on her mind. In 2017 we had the opportunity to take a severance (leaving the aerospace field) and liquidate retirement to purchase a commercial building. With Christina and Dan doing much of the renovations, the building became Ra Coffee Company shop number one with opening our doors in October 2018. Our focus has always been about quality, above and beyond customer service, and value with a team of individuals that we really consider family. From our coffees, 70 plus flavors, made to order breakfast sandwiches, pastries that we bake in house every day, bagels that we ship FedEx from New York, and our Lotus all natural energy drinks we have options for everyone! In 2020 in 2021 we opened our second and third locations on the Naval Weapons Station on Joint Base Charleston. In 2023 we were offered the opportunity to open our 4th location on the Joint Charleston Air Force Base inside their newly built hotel. And later that same year we expanded with the Navy with two locations in Jacksonville FL at the Naval Air Station. The journey has been a tremendous amount of work, uncertainty at times, along with setbacks. However, with following relentlessly “the dream “and taking a position that we had no other option but to succeed with God’s grace, the business has grown. Relationships with customers and team members truly is a family experience and makes the work so worthwhile. We have been blessed with being voted Best local coffee shop with Charleston’s choice Awards 7 out of seven years. And in 2025 we were voted Best Coffee Shop South Carolina! so very exciting and would not be possible without the amazing team and customers that support our small family-owned business every day.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to owning your own business is not an easy one. Having many years of management experience I and managing a start-up, definitely a bit easier. I think the biggest struggles has been developing and mentoring A team of individuals That truly loved the business. Hiring is the easy part it’s hiring the right individuals is a skill and art with a lot of trial and error. We went through Covid which was not an easy time for our business but made it through. We’ve gone through competitors opening around us with our general area having approximately three times the amount of coffee shops that were there when we started in 2018. As owners the coaching and mentorship that comes back to people, is so important otherwise as owners you are the end all be all and there really is no break or rest We are so thankful for our great team and the growth that they’ve shown that allows Christina and Dan to focus more on the future operations and strategic decisions
What matters most to you?
What matters the most to Christina and Dan are the relationships with both team members and customers! without either of those our small business would not exist. We are forever grateful and thankful! closely following this is the three elements mentioned earlier that include quality, above, and beyond customer service and value. It’s really mix Ra Coffee what it is and our critical differentiator of us to other similar businesses.
Pricing:
- We have a standard menu, Seasonal Menu, and catering menus available.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.racoffeecompany.com
- Facebook: Ra Coffee Company
- Twitter: Ra Coffee Company
- Yelp: Ra Coffee Company
- Other: Google -Ra Coffee Company
