Ron Cortez, a smart business owner who is taking the process and experience of coffee to a new level.
Ron Cortez is the owner of Cortez Coffee Co. in Tempe. He grew up in Costa Rica and spent his days picking coffee with his friends. “We grew coffee at the basic level, we were coffee pickers,” said Ron. “I grew up doing that with my buddies, we would try to make some money before Christmas.”
Coffee was never the plan for Ron, he said, “Coffee was like an accident, I never thought about getting in the business.” Cortez Coffee is not an ordinary coffee shop, it’s unique, to say the least. “We have a bar that fits about five people, and we call it an academy because we teach people how to make the coffee,” said Ron.
Ron fell in love with a girl and followed her to Tempe, and that’s where he decided to stay and start his business. He has two daughters, Angela and Olivia, and his son Patrick who helps him out with the business. “The number one thing about my dad is he’s very charismatic,” said Patrick. “He’s really good at negotiating, communicating with others and he’s really passionate.”
Amanda Adams, an employee of Cortez Coffee, said her favorite thing about Ron is his creativity and knowledge on coffee. “I never know what I’m going to do when I get to work in the morning, it’s always something new…we’re like a family, and Ron’s very passionate as an owner and has love for his employees,” said Amanda. “I found where I fit…we’re all so different but somehow we formed this company together.”
Ron is always involved with his business, making sure that it thrives to be the best it can be. He is currently in Costa Rica, where he often visits with family and where he learned all about how to roast, brew, and cultivate coffee. He learned to perfect this art through his grandfather and father in their native country of Costa Rica.
As far as where he sees Cortez Coffee in five years, “Cortez is staying, the base is there and being in Tempe, we bring in so many new people each year,” said Ron. “We score coffees that are very rare, we help roasters, do wholesale and people from all over the United States buy our coffee online.”
“Cortez Coffee is great all around, but I really love sharing our product with other people,” said Patrick. Patrick said he’s thinking about taking over the business one day and his father would love him to, but Ron says he ultimately just wants his son to find happiness.
“Hopefully in five years, Cortez will be more of a household name,” said Amanda. “I hope we thrive as much as we can because we put our passion into what we do.” Ron has many plans for the future and hopes that Cortez continues to thrive.
Some of his plans include continuing to experiment with cold brew and to potentially merge with a brewery one day. Cortez will continue to help other roasters and expand their wholesale market. Ron’s story shows that anything can be achieved if you truly have a passion for what you’re doing.