Growing up, Juanny Romero, CEO and founder of Mothership Coffee Roasters, spent her time rock climbing and skateboarding. Some of her calmest moments came when she was hanging out in cafes, a realization that sparked the idea for Mothership in 2012. Initially, the business focused solely on roasting coffee beans, mastering the craft of specialty coffee before expanding into a full-service coffee shop in 2015.
Ten years later, the coffee shop has opened six locations, hosted former Vice President Kamala Harris, won the award for Best Coffeehouse in Las Vegas in 2025, and launched several revenue streams including merchandise and catering. Romero attributes Mothership’s growth and success to the community, which remains at its core. “We’ve built trust with the community and customers feel empowered to come to me,” said Romero. “They come with great ideas like ‘it’d be really cool if you did this’ or ‘it’d be really awesome to see you do that.’ I think about it and go ‘you know what? I want to try that. Why not?’”
Using meaningful merchandise to foster connection
Merchandise was one of the first ways Mothership Coffee Roasters invested in community-centric growth. Its expansive merchandise collection, available via its Square Online site, includes everything from hats, shirts, bags, drinkware, coffee bundles, collectibles, and more. But for Mothership, it’s not merchandise just for the sake of merchandise. Romero recalled having one singular focus for it and any further extensions of the brand: “How can it be meaningful?” As she and her team began the design process with local artists, she incorporated elements that were pivotal to her journey, ensuring every component felt authentic.
One of the designs, for example, contains images of a tiger, a representation of an image that came to her during a vision exercise with a therapist. “A vision exercise usually involves going through a forest and coming into a house to ultimately find your protector,” she explained. “The tiger came up in my vision as my protector, so we built the design around that, and it took off,” she added. Romero remembers a time when she ran into someone at the airport wearing the tiger design, hearing firsthand how the shirt fostered a connection with customers.
“He was an off-duty Marine, so he had come to Vegas for his long weekend and he’s like, ‘On the side, I’m an artist and I like hanging out in cafes. I saw that jacket and it really spoke to me. So I had to buy one,’” she remembered him saying. She cited another story where a customer was out in Thailand wearing the shirt and someone saw it and yelled out, “Mothership!”
“Those moments are really cool to me because we know the company isn’t going to become wealthy from creating designs, but they’re doing their job, which is creating meaningful conversations and connections,” said Romero.
Building community and partnership through events
Events are another connection point for Mothership, often offering a long-term impact on both revenue and community. “Events have allowed us to have relationships that are way beyond our ability to manifest,” said Romero. By way of events, the coffee shop has built partnerships with Allegiant Stadium, Ambitious Black Girl, countless churches, and dozens of youth groups. The latter is uniquely special to Romero who said: “There’s not a lot for youth to do after 4 p.m. in Vegas. If you’re under 21, you’re restricted in places you can hang out.”
Mothership Coffee Roasters creates safe and welcoming environments for young people to hang out with friends, meet new people, and attend exciting events all at once. From wellness-based events to tea talks, Mothership is able to bring people together in a unique way in Las Vegas, embracing the community from every angle. Having an engaged staff, a powerful mission, and a strong product all make it easier for Mothership Coffee Roasters to build community. But its POS system is also a considerable driver.
“Square is seamless to use, and that gives us more time to spend with our community, which is more important to us than trying to figure out the technology,” said Romero.
Seamless technology has also had a positive impact on staff retention. “What we didn’t realize was that the stress of navigating a register, let’s say during peak time, directly correlates to how stressful the job is,” she explained. “So when a POS system is easier to use for our team members, the ability to retain them is higher,” she added. This retention aspect is also true for customers. A smooth and easy checkout process encourages customers to return to the shop, enabling loyalty.
Forging a future for the next generation
Romero’s plans for the future ultimately aim to turn loyalty into leadership. Through its upcoming mentorship program Mothership University, the team plans to help young people “create courage and confidence” that can help shape their lives. “We want to build equity and strong leaders, and in the end, if someone wants to open their own Mothership, we will find resources for them to do that,” explained Romero.
As a self-proclaimed “professional at failing forward,” Romero expressed a deep commitment to helping the next generation move through life with fewer mistakes and more opportunities. “Doing this is ultimately better for every community that they go into afterward, it’s better for themselves, and it’s just better for all of us,” she explained.
This community-first approach will be a through-line in Mothership University, reinforcing the importance of serving others. “I love how we’re growing, but we cannot make the change we want at the pace we’re doing it,” said Romero. “So we have to give Mothership away and let the torch be carried by other people if we really want to be meaningful and make change.”
