Elevate Coffee & Decor brings community, inspiration, and beyond

When you enter the door of Elevate Coffee & Decor in Rainier, you are instantly drawn in with sounds of coffee and drinks being brewed and blended, ambient music in the background, cozy corner nooks to sit, and a collection of art and home goods from local artisans to admire and shop.

Partners and co-owners of Elevate, Ryan Hesketh and Alejandro "Ollie" Bribiezcas also work full-time in the medical industry, and to say the two are busy is an understatement. Bribiezcas spent years in social work and then transitioned to medical sales for Kohler helping customers find solutions for mobility and accessibility needs in their home. Hesketh has a career in veterinary medicine and owned and operated a veterinary hospital from 2013 until 2018, when he sold it to the company he currently works for as a regional manager overseeing 20 veterinary hospitals throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Prior to Hesketh's foray in veterinary medicine, he was a partner in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Wash., which he credits for his passion for owning a coffee shop. "For years I've said at some point I want to get back to that passion piece of things," Hesketh said. "It's the way that coffee brings people in. Generally, we have a few people that come in and spend a couple of hours every Sunday morning with us, and we're just chatting with them in between customers, so it's on those types of bonds and relationships that it's built."

Speaking of his partner, Bribiezca added, "For Ryan, his idea was creating a space where people are coming in to feel welcome and enjoy something, even something so simple as coffee. I look at Ryan and I see the purpose he brings into it and the creativity and I wanted to be part of that journey with him. It was such a great opportunity for us to put our ideas together and make sure this is something we can co-create together."

Hesketh and Bribiezca also own a fragrance company called Classic Fragrance, which originally started as a home hobby in 2020.

"My mom passed away about 10 years ago, but she was huge into Scentsy and candlelight parties and so it was such an upbringing for me to always have these gatherings at our house," Hesketh said. "There was a scent she loved that we have not been able to find for years and so I was like, 'I'm just going to create it myself,' which is where the fragrance company came from, trying to create that and then evolving that into other scents."

The two started selling Classic Fragrance online and promoting their inventory of home and car diffusers, room sprays, and candles at the Cowlitz community farmers market where they developed a following. Today, fans of Classic Fragrance can find a display of products at the shop. In addition to the Classic Fragrance line, Elevate Coffee & Decor also acts as an artist collective for regional artisans. "That came from asking what is more than just coffee that can also bring people together and what does that need to look like," Hesketh said. "What opportunities are there within Rainier if we wanted to add something to coffee? From a shopping component, there's not a lot of options here, so we thought what would be great is if someone could have an area where they can come in to buy gifts, buy things for their own home, those types of things."

That line of thinking led to partnering up with a range of regional artists to help bring further exposure and support their work. The showcase of products includes glass art by Rainier local Marla Montgomery with Kiss My Glass; pottery by Burnt Decay; handmade custom stools by NW Woven; wood and leather engravings by Minion Creatives; wood and resin items by Nedder Art; and their newest artist, Little Blackbird Art (St. Helens) to name a few. Elevate Coffee & Decor also features local food artisans featuring items from Scappoose-based Gordon and Hill Bakery and Sugar Pearl Dessert Company out of Longview, Wash.

To help support the business and extend reach, Elevate Coffee & Decor just announced availability with DoorDash, which started on May 2, and was inspired by Hesketh's own previous experience as a DoorDash driver. "Some would say it's a downfall for us that we don't have a drive thru, so we thought if we offer Door Dash or a delivery service it offsets where people may not have time to hop out of their car in the morning," Hesketh said. "So that's where we started to get creative with thinking of what we could offer to pull from even farther away and expand the radius of people."

While they're still in wait-and-see mode as to how the community responds, initial sales were promising with four orders their first day. The two have plans to add retail items to their DoorDash menu as well. The owners are also busy thinking of creative ways to engage with the community in the summer months ahead.

"We're wanting to find a way to do events," said Hesketh. "We're going to have Blooms by Becky and do an evening once a month where we do a flower party where you'll build your own bouquet that you take with you, and we're planning on doing outdoor seating with the summer months as well. That way it's a little bit more welcoming and more people can hang out here."

Elevate Coffee & Decor is located at 110 East B St. in Rainier and is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For info, call 360- 353-8563 or visit elevatecoffeedecor.com.