Attalus - Origin Story

It started as a little whisper. Driving down the country roads of small town Dixon, California. A small idea that would bloom over the years, becoming more in focus and consuming our thoughts and decisions in ways we never knew possible.

"Start a coffee shop."

But there my husband was, with a music and photography background. He knew next to nothing about coffee, but was entranced by the idea. He's also the man who does everything wholeheartedly, and when he knew this was something he wanted to do, he wouldn't stop until it happened.

To make a long story short, Kevin began cultivating this idea by immersing himself in the coffee culture of Perth, Australia, where we lived from 2014-2017. I (Marissa) already knew a bit about coffee, and was trained at a local cafe, so I began to share the love with Kevin, my then-boyfriend.

We made friends, learned more about the origins of coffee, trained at Five Senses Barista Academy in Perth, and moved back to California to really start trying to build a business and our dream. Three years after that, we launched. And who would have thought 2020 would be the year? 

When I began really allowing myself to dream in 2019, I had no idea how I would escape the "hustle and grind" of work and everyday life to wholeheartedly pursue our dream of being business owners and entrepreneurs. Then, as we all experienced, 2020 went a way we never could have imagined. It forced a slowing down of the pace of life, put a lot of obligations to rest, and opened up huge chunks of time to be creative and intentional with how we spent our time. 

In May of 2020, we really felt to focus on Attalus. The name, "Attalus," (AT-TAH-LUS) kept coming back to us, and we figured there's no better time than now to start. We researched bags, made labels, bought coffee, roasted, burnt, and underdeveloped the coffee (and tried again and again), created a website, and dreamed of all the possibilities. We had no idea our business would start as a coffee roasting company, rather than a shop, but doors opened that undeniably led us here. 

So here we are: a husband-and-wife duo, in love with coffee and hospitality in a way that seems to run so deep, we can only identify it as our passion. We want to bridge the gap between tasty coffee and knowing where it's sourced from. We want to provide an option that you can feel confident about buying, knowing that we took care in selecting a coffee that was hand-picked by people taken care of and treated well, and knowing we put time in making sure the farmer's work is honored in how we roast.

We value hospitality, transparency, and making sure everyone we encounter feels loved and at home. We are on this journey and, honestly, every day we're becoming more and more the people and business owners we hope to be. I guess I write this more in a way to come out of my shell and be vulnerable to the world... Holding out my hand with something to offer, and hoping you take it.

We hope you choose us for so many reasons, but we genuinely hope to be a part of your morning routine, and that you take this journey with us.