RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Rio Grande Valley is home to many coffee drinkers, as well as dozens of coffee shops.
However, one stands out from the rest as it is the RGV’s only mobile coffee bar inside a horse trailer.
“We are the first mobile coffee bar in a horse trailer in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Stephanie Brantley, owner and operator of Match Made Coffee Bar.
The coffee shop on wheels is gaining popularity quickly and with only one year in business, they are quickly becoming an RGV favorite.
It might be the pretty drinks or even the unique feel to the horse trailer, but owner Stephanie Brantley and Delisa Guadarrama said it is more about how they serve the drink, rather than what’s inside.
“People can get a good cup of coffee in a lot of different places, but for us, the customer service is key to what we do,” said Stephanie Brantley, “We tell people if you get your beverage and it’s not perfect, let us know. We want to find the drink that’s match made for you.”
How the business all started is just as sweet as the coffee itself.
“When I was planning my wedding for New Year’s Eve of 2019 leading to 2020, I knew I wanted a unique coffee bar and there was nobody here in the Valley that could do it, and my wife and I jokingly said ‘we should start our own business’.”
That’s exactly what they did. The couple wanted coffee at the wedding since that’s what brought them together.
“I was working at a local coffee shop in San Antonio,” said Brantley, “She and I had met there when she was studying for her medical board exams and so we would get to talking and I asked her out on our first date on a cup- I wrote dinner and drinks? 6:30? on her cup and then 8 years later to that day, she proposed to me on a cup at the original Starbucks where we met and we knew coffee was a huge part of our story, so we knew we wanted that in our story, and we said if we can’t find it, we’ll create it.”
And so Match Made was born, creating the perfect blend for thousands of RGV coffee drinkers.
“Surprisingly we thought we’d do two to three events a month, I even told one of our founding partners who works with us, ‘hey I’ll only need you two or three times a month’ and now we’re averaging 20-30 events a month,” said Brantley.
The secret? Listening to the locals. and not leaving anyone out.
“We went to serve a couple of schools in Falfurrias and Rio Grande City and they were just tickled pink because they say no vendors want to go out here because it’s so far, and for us, our belief is there’s coffee for everyone, even if you aren’t a coffee drinker, we have hot chocolate, Italian crème sodas, Thai tea, there’s something for everyone,” said Brantley.
Due to their massive success, the couple said they’re now contemplating opening up a more permanent coffee bar around the Rio Grande Valley in the near future, complete with lots of love in every cup.