220 : Founder Friday! w/ Sarah Barnett Gill of Mama Mocha’s in Auburn , AL

This Founder Friday is a wild, unique, and refreshingly honest experience. Today we are going to be talking with the one and only Sarah Barnett Gill, the owner of Mama Mocha’s in Auburn, AL.

Mama Mocha is a formidably strong Alabama woman who has pioneered her career throughout the southeastern 2nd, 3rd and 4th waves of specialty coffee. She owns a high volume espresso bar in south-side downtown Auburn, Alabama and a roasting warehouse in historic downtown Opelika, Alabama. She is a US coffee champs competitor and avid twerk class participant. She is a Jesus-loving, front yard gardening, hot mess of a wife and mama to a beautiful three year old boy named Sambone. She’s 6’3’’ and still wears heels.

Sarah has been in coffee since 2003 and for the last 7+ years has been operating one of the most unique, authentic, and welcoming coffee shops around. Mama Mocha’s is a beacon of diversity, love, and simple honest enjoyment of people and coffee. In the pursuit of this Sarah has worked hard to grow her business from a small roastery in a $200/mo room of a bookstore to an established community icon of great coffee and charming hospitality that wins peoples hearts and taste buds.

This conversation covers a wide range of topics from the expected to the quit un-expected. Sarah is not afraid to take bold stands and is equal parts serious business woman, and fun loving protector of the marginalized. Plus, like me, she loves a good dark roasted coffee.

So, buckle up, this is going to be a refreshing and wild ride.

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