Civil Coffee, the brainchild of Alan and Alex Morales, was an unexpected journey. The Morales brothers learned from a young age that they needed to work for themselves and always strive to excel. Alan started with a traditional path. He was studying electrical engineering and was one course away from graduating when one moment changed his future. “I had a really good espresso that changed everything,” Alan said. “One cup was all I needed to be like ‘I’m dropping this.’”
In 2014, Alan and his brother shifted their focus from engineering to coffee, emphasizing the delicacies of Mexican coffee culture. What began as a mobile coffee cart service that tended to flea markets and other opportunities in the area has evolved into a multi-location coffee business and a favorite among LA locals. From day one, the business has leveraged Square as its technology partner, from startup to scaling, all while prioritizing community and a standout cup of coffee.
How it started: Building a brand without long-term contracts
As a coffee business in the highly saturated market in Los Angeles, the Morales brothers needed a low barrier to entry without long-term commitments. Traditional banks, like Bank of America, often required long-term commitments for their point-of-sale systems, which conflicted with their original mobile setup and the flexibility they needed to find their footing as new business owners. “Bank of America wanted us to do a two-year contract, and we honestly didn’t know if we were going to be around for two years in the beginning. With Square, we had flexibility,” Alan said. The business started with the Square Reader and advanced to Square Point-of-Sale once they opened up their first brick-and-mortar location.
“It’s always been Square for us,” Alan said.
As a new business, it was especially important that they had tools that were easy for staff to use, so they could spend more time cultivating a unique, welcoming experience for customers who were trusting them with one of the most important parts of their day. “I’ve never heard our staff complain about Square … it’s never a conversation whatsoever,” Alan explained.
How it’s going: Tools that maximize operations and the experience
Ten years later, the business still relies on Square to power all three locations. “It’s really become part of my DNA…I’ve never come across a feature that impedes me or slows me down,” he said. He touted Square AI as being a game changer in how he operates with his data. When he wants to look at historical data, for instance, Square AI enables him to simply pop in a question in the toolbar, giving him a result in 30 seconds. Beforehand, he’d typically spend around 10 to 15 minutes trying to figure out specific data around things that might’ve happened eight years ago.
Other tools like Square Handheld have prompted him to rethink how he operates his business. As a cafe, customers typically come in and buy a coffee and hang around for hours with one item. He envisions a near-future where baristas can potentially use Square Handheld to engage customers away from the counter and offer them more items as they lounge around the cafe, boosting profits and overall efficiency. “The introduction of Square Handheld has definitely led us to think about how we maximize more of what we’re doing at the cafe [and customer experience] level,” he said.
The impact: Deep-rooted customer relationships that extend beyond Los Angeles
With tools that enable him to operate more efficiently, the Morales brothers are able to create stronger relationships within their community and afar. The team uses Square Marketing to send regular newsletters to customers, encouraging them to shop their online store to purchase bags of coffee. “We have customers who’ve moved away from Los Angeles to places like Michigan, and the newsletter still allows us to have that connection point,” Alan explained.
For customers who are still local to the Los Angeles shops, Civil Coffee leverages Square Loyalty to keep customers engaged. Alan estimates that more than 35% of customers use their loyalty points regularly, noting that loyalty members often spend over $12 more than non-loyalty members. “Our regulars are massively important to our business. We’re not a place you visit every six months. They spend time with us three to five times a week,” he explained. “We know their faces, we know their names, we know their personal lives; they share it across the counter.”
Nurturing these customers, taking care of the neighborhoods that take care of them, is ultimately what encourages Civil Coffee to continue innovating within the business. “Some of our loyal customers know our point system better than we do … they’ll get their points and start dancing like ‘Yeah, I got 300 points’,” Alan explained. “We like keeping customers happy.”
