Daily Inspiration: Meet Steven Bison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Bison.

Hi Steven, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
We wanted to create an environment for people to feel comfortable hanging out and having a great conversations. We started putting this together during the COVID pandemic because of big chain coffee companies. I vividly remember going into a Starbucks location back in April of 2021. (I used to stop here every morning before work) As soon as I opened the door to the restaurant, I wasn’t pleasantly greeted by the barista, as was the norm before COVID. I was yelled at and told, “you need to put a mask on.” After working in healthcare for the past 18 years, I didn’t think it was the responsibility of a 17-year-old barista to tell me what I needed to do. I also think companies took advantage of the pandemic and stopped focusing on providing a good customer experience. At that point, I decided I would bring back the basics and treat people right and open my own coffee shop. Also, growing up in the West Valley, there has always been a lack of family-owned restaurants, especially coffee shops. Fast forward to June. I was in Southern California searching online for a coffee truck or food truck to get things started. Then I came across a barista training ad that seemed appealing. I sent them a message and continued my search. When I got back to Arizona, I sent the Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dana Seltzer I work with a text asking if he wanted to open a coffee shop in his vacant batting cage building. (shut down because of COVID). He immediately responded, “YES.” If you knew him, you would think this is bizarre because he never responds to my text messages, and if he does, he never takes anything I say seriously. LOL. I was able to talk to him in more detail about my plan the following Tuesday. Once we came up with a plan and agreement, I called my brother. I asked him if he wanted to help me open a coffee shop. His response was, “Dammit, okay.” HAHA. (I’m always dragging my family into my “Bad Ideas.” I also convinced him to try and sail to Catalina Island in rough seas on a boat we bought two days prior.) We had a lot of fights. Quit a few times and broke a few things. (All before we opened.) I think he or I may have even walked out in the middle of a busy day. But, we were able to open on December 1, 2021. It has been very tiring working 7 days a week, but we have established some great friendships here from Skaters, scooter kids, to seniors. We even named a drink after our favorite customer Carol. (delicious Tiramisu Latte) Gus, the center of our concept, originated from us wanting to bring him with us to help us relax while we were renovating. He loved coming to work so much and helped us relax. We made him our mascot. He gets super excited every morning now when I bring him with me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our biggest hurdle, by far, has been for our customers to find our location. Our address takes people to Thunderbird Rd, about a 1/2 mile from our physical location. We have adjusted this through google maps and apple if you search for Sanctuary Cafe. We still have issues getting deliveries because of this. We also couldn’t find any distributes when we first started. We were making trips to Costco, Restaurant Depot, Sprouts, and Safeway to get the needed supplies. We are finally at a point where we have established good relationships with suppliers and are mostly getting the supplies we need.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I spent most of my adult life working in orthopedics. My brother has spent most of his life working in the automotive industry. We both are very committed to doing things we set our minds to. I think what sets us apart is our tenacity in getting things accomplished. We both love to seek out challenges and pursue new ideas. Our ability to create new products and recipes sets us apart in the restaurant business. We are most proud of our hand-tossed pizzas and our Horchata latte. These are by far the best things we have made. When we created these, we both looked at each other and said this is the best I’ve ever had. The best part of what we do is seeing our customers get excited when we create a new product because they know it will be great!

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My motto is always to be around people you want to be like. We are learning in the restaurant business that you can’t really count on anyone but yourself. You may have to do things that you have never done before. Something will always go wrong, and you have to be able to navigate through them. We haven’t sought out a mentor, but we do network all the time. The best part about having a small-town cafe is talking to people and finding out what they do. We have met some incredibly talented people through conversations; we wouldn’t otherwise get to have to wait in a drive-thru line.

Contact Info:

• Website: Sanctuarycafeaz.com. Coming Soon
• Instagram: @sanctuarycafeaz
• Facebook: @sanctuarycafeaz