Rising Stars: Meet Maggie O’Malley of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie O’Malley.

Hi Maggie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have wanted to own a coffee shop since I was in high school. I went to Shawnee State University for business and marketing. A got a job at a bank that I hated, and eventually left to work at a coffee shop near Columbus. After a year, I became the manager there and I loved it. When covid hit my friend was looking into getting a food truck and basically convinced me that was what I needed to do. After some research the numbers made sense and I liked the mobility of it. It took awhile to find the trailer, and about a year for my dad and I to transform the horse trailer into a coffee trailer. I opened in December of 2022 in Columbus. In January I found out I was pregnant! I worked until I was a little over 8 months pregnant. After having our daughter, my husband and I decided to move back to Cleveland to be closer to family. Thankfully I opened a coffee shop that could move with us.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Finding places or events to set up is more challenging than I thought it would be. Especially now, there seems to be more coffee trucks in the area and not as many events on the west side. I had just started to feel comfortable with getting work, and I was building a following when I had my daughter. Post partum rocked me a little bit, and I wanted to be closer to family. I took some time off and only worked a few events here and there. I started reaching out and looking for work more seriously last fall. Trying to decide which events will be worth it is a new challenge. Sometimes it works out great, and other events are a bust but I have been learning a lot. Things break, most of my equipment wasn’t made to be driven over bumpy roads. I learned a lot about the buttons on my fridge when it stopped working. My espresso machine started smoking at an event and I had to use my home machine while it was fixed. There is always something that can be fixed or improved upon.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Chickadee Coffee and Tea is a coffee trailer that my dad and I built together from an old horse trailer. I serve coffee, lattes, cold brew, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate, and dirty sodas. The trailer runs on batteries and solar panels, so I don’t have a noisy generator! Which is great for weddings and neighborhood events. My mom works with me for a lot of my larger events. I use a local roaster, Lekko Coffee, for my coffee and espresso beans. I switch out flavors seasonally for my specialty lattes or dirty sodas, but I always have the Chickadee Latte. I have been to a school 3 times and the secretary always gets it, people seem to love it as much as I do!

What matters most to you? Why?
Connecting with people. You never know what someone is going through and a simple conversation and a coffee can really turn a day around. I had a regular at the coffee shop I used to manage that I think of often. I had no idea until I left, he gave me a letter on my last day that said I helped him when he was at his lowest just by being kind. I miss having regulars but it is nice when I get to see people a couple times a year to check in. Pricing is tricky too, I get that a lot of places charge more than me but just because I can, does that mean I should? I should also mention that I don’t have as much overhead as other trucks. I love being able to bring the joy and community of a coffee shop to neighborhoods, schools, offices and special events.

Pricing:

• drinks range from $3-6.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chickadeecoffeetea.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chickadeecoffeetea
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChickadeeCoffeeTea