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On the morning of Aug. 30, Katelyn Diaz’s hands shook as she made her first espresso of the day.
Parked in her neighborhood of Polo Run, she took a glance out the window of her new coffee trailer, which is the centerpiece of her new business, Sip n Brew. A line of customers — made up of family, friends and neighbors — were waiting to try out her coffees, teas and lemonades.
“It was the moment I realized this is actually real,” Diaz said. “We built something that people want to be part of, and it brought us all together over a simple cup of coffee.”
Sip n Brew is co-owned and operated by Lakewood Ranch’s Diaz, who is 19, and her parents, Rachel and Adriano Diaz. Katelyn Diaz is studying business online through the State College of Florida, but she didn’t want to wait until she graduated to start a business.
Adriano Diaz said the experience thus far has been both rewarding and eye opening. He said being able to watch his daughter tackle obstacles that come with running a business has been incredible. He said she is learning resilience, responsibility, and the value of hard work.
“What I hope she takes away from this is not just the mechanics of running a business, but also the confidence that comes from building something of her own,” Adriano Diaz said. “I want her to see that she’s capable of turning ideas into reality, and that even setbacks can be stepping stones if you keep pushing forward.”
Rachel Diaz described running the business as a “family affair.” Adriano Diaz works as the chief financial officer and helps set up the truck wherever it might be located that day. He gets the ice, fuel, water and sets up the signs. His set up includes an inflatable waving man— commonly seen at car dealerships— that says “COFFEE” in capital letters to draw attention.
Rachel Diaz is in charge of inventory, making connections with the community and working in the truck to serve customers alongside Katelyn. Katelyn is the “boss” as Rachel said, and also creates content and posts on their social media.
Katelyn Diaz, a Lakewood Ranch High graduate, said opening and operating the business with her family makes it special. Her parents described her as gregarious, outgoing, warm and cheerful.
“We build memories, not just drinks, in our own community,” Katelyn Diaz said.
“Katie designed her own menu with something for everyone in mind,” Rachel Diaz said.
Sip n Brew makes its coffee from beans sourced from Guatemala which are locally roasted at Banyan Coffee Co. in Palmetto.
The menu includes both hot and cold coffees — Americanos, espressos, lattes, cappuccinos and cold brews. Katelyn said she wanted to serve people who don’t enjoy coffee as well, so they also have lemonade refreshers and teas.
“We were just throwing names back and forth, and I was thinking since we offer teas and lemonade, I wanted the ‘sip’ as in to sip the teas and the lemonades and ‘brew’ as in brew the coffee,” Katelyn Diaz said.
Katelyn Diaz said her personal favorite on the menu is a seasonal item— the Honey Bun Latte. She said they use organic raw honey, which provides the perfect amount of sweetness. They top it with a honey bun, which Katelyn said makes it cute and festive.
Katelyn Diaz customized the trailer — everything from the colors, logo and use of palm trees — as a nod to Miami, where she was born.
“I just love everything about Florida, the beach and the sun, and the palm trees, of course,” Katelyn Diaz said. “I wanted to include that in the trailer through the decorations and the bright colors. The blue goes along with the beachy theme and I wanted to incorporate that because that's what I grew up on.”
The Diaz family traveled to Tennessee to pick up their fully customized trailer. Adriano and Rachel saw pictures prior to seeing it in person, but Katelyn only knew what she had sent in as designs, not how it was implemented. Katelyn said she was surprised by how cute it was, and it was everything she could have imagined.
“It was perfect,” Rachel Diaz said. “It fulfilled her dream.”
Devin and Delayna Canofari were customers of Sip n Brew on Sept. 24. They both ordered seasonal items — Devin purchased the Sip n Sugar (brown sugar shaken espresso with vanilla cold foam and cinnamon powder) and Delayna ordered the Harvest Brew (pumpkin cream cold brew with pumpkin cold foam).
“Their customer service was phenomenal,” Devin Canofari said.”They talked us through all of the fall specials and the coffee was great.
“You can't beat how cute the trailer is,” Delayna Canofari said. “With the bright colors, you can spot it far away.”
Katelyn Diaz’s goals include expanding the business to have multiple trucks and an eventual permanent physical location in Lakewood Ranch.
“I’m passionate about my coffee because it’s how I connect with people,” Katelyn Diaz said. “It’s how I share a little piece of myself.”
