“Beginnings are always exciting but nerve-wracking,” said Miguel Diaz, a Hampton Roads–based entrepreneur, as he reminisced on the early stages of expanding his coffee brand into a brick-and-mortar kiosk.

The coffee brand Rich Port Coffee stands in a cozy corner of a corporate building in Downtown Norfolk. The aroma of the Puerto Rican coffee greets you long before it is handed to you in a branded, insulated cup by the lead barista, who also happens to be Miguel’s wife, Mia Diaz.

“My husband loves coffee,” Mia said. “He always had the idea that he wanted to start his own business. He worked in banking and always brought owners into the banking industry. He was like, ‘Wait, I can do that for myself.’ So he just started searching for inspiration, thinking I could do that! What could I bring that’s different and unique? He went the coffee route.”

The coffee market, like many other industries, is oversaturated. Starbucks, the coffee market’s final boss, is just a block over from Rich Port Coffee’s location. However, the Diazes saw a need for authentic coffee, and it required going back to their roots to find it.

“I just wanted to bring a good, quality coffee from Puerto Rico. When you bring coffee from Puerto Rico, a lot of times it’s just mixed with other blends of coffee. I wanted to work with a farm directly from Puerto Rico, directly from the source to here, to give to people,” Miguel said.

People are also the driving force behind the story of Rich Port Coffee. The Diazes recognized that coffee is communal and that it often inspires us to connect with others during the good, and sometimes bad, times that can occur in life.

“As a family (and human beings), we are constantly going through moments, situations, or circumstances that create a memory, good or bad. For us, a lot of this happens while grabbing a cup of coffee at a shop or a family’s place. So, we wanted to offer a freshly-roasted, great quality coffee for others to have while creating these memories,” Miguel said.

The Diazes have been helping people create memories for three years as a wholesale brand, but more recently, they celebrated their first anniversary as a brick-and-mortar business. However, the journey has not always been easy.

“For us, some challenges were exposure. In a digital world, there is so much that you have to think of that, for a small business owner, is hard to do when you already have a lot on your plate. We overcame this by personally going to places where you know people will be interested in what you offer, and creating a good reputation for our business, products, and personal brand,” Miguel said.

As for reputation, Rich Port Coffee earned favorable reviews on Google, and in 2023, the brand won the coveted CoVa Biz Magazine’s Best of Business Award. As of 2024, the Diazes are brewing up for broader achievements in the future.

“In the next five to ten years, we see our business going nationwide,” Miguel said. “We’re focusing on our long-term vision of our vision plan.”

Rich Port Coffee is available both online and in person. Visit www.richportcoffee.com or stop by their coffee shop located on the first floor of the Truist Building in Downtown Norfolk.