For Eris Movadhedi, each day begins early, sometimes at 4 a.m.
“I create joy when I do it, even in the heat even with inflation,” she said. “We call it Espressoul because we put our heart and soul into every drink we make.”
Her family helped her create the mobile coffee bar, with the truck painted by her mother. She moved from Iran to the United States about 14 years ago, eventually bringing her love of coffee to Tucson.
“I was like I want to make something on my own that bring the Persian flavors and other cultures,” she said.
She wasn’t always going to open her own coffee business. Movadhedi said she was going to medical school a few years ago and had about four jobs to support herself. During the pandemic, she was laid off from her job at Starbucks.
“I started selling clothes at the swap meet and then it gave me an idea of what it was like to be your own boss,” she said.
But the studying didn’t stop there she eventually became espresso certified in Italy. An espresso certification means the barista learned about coffee through rigorous technical requirements from the correct water temperature to brewing time. In Tucson, she brought that knowledge to her coffee bar.
But now, she’s growing her business and connecting with the community. And to do that, she moves the coffee bar to different spots in Tucson each day.
“Sometimes you have three locations to get to or sometimes you have an event,” she said.
Even through the high temperatures and inflation rates, she continues to open her window.
“When they show up for me, for Espressoul, why shouldn’t show up for them?” she said.
She hopes to inspire other business owners in Tucson.
“You can 100% achieve what you love and what your passionate about,” she said. “Especially if you you have a strategic way to go about it. Have faith and work hard.”