About us
Everything it takes to open a coffee shop, in the right order.
ShopLaunch turns the messy, scattered process of opening a coffee business into one guided path, from first idea to opening day, and the growing that comes after.
Why we exist
Opening a coffee shop is not one big decision. It is hundreds of small ones, and they only work when you make them in the right order. Most of the answers exist, but they are buried across county websites, forum threads, and the memories of people who have done it before.
We started ShopLaunch to gather that knowledge into a single place and hand it back as a plan you can actually follow. Answer a short interview and you get a roadmap tailored to your concept, budget, and pace, with a clear next step at every stage.
It is early days. ShopLaunch is a young product and we are shipping constantly, in the open. You can follow along on the changelog.
About the author
ShopLaunch is built by Sumner Ohye. In 2009 he started The Curb with a step truck bought off eBay and grew it into a beloved independent coffee company on O'ahu, with cafes in Kaimuki, Kailua, and on the UH Mānoa campus. He sourced with intention, taking trips to origin to meet the farmers behind his coffee, and treated his roasters as partners rather than vendors.
Along the way he got into roasting himself and went on to open a shop in Washington. From the start he gave the playbook away, helping other shops choose equipment, installing their machines, and coaching their baristas. He never believed the secret was the gear. Eventually he traded the espresso bar for tech, and these days he ships commits instead of shots, building tools for the people figuring it out next.
He believes this kind of information should be free and easy to find. He has been sharing it for years. ShopLaunch just puts it in a more organized fashion: one place, in the right order.
“It's never about your beans, your equipment, or your hours. It's you. You're the magic that makes it work, and who your customers come to see.”
Behind the bar
On the competition floor
- 2x U.S. Barista Championship competitor (Big West 2014, U.S. Coffee Championships qualifier 2020)
- Competed in the Comandante USA Barista Championship
- Hosted and competed in latte art throwdowns
Coffee on set
He has poured for film and TV shooting in Hawai'i, on location and at the Diamond Head studio stage:
- The Last Resort
- Hawaii Five-0
- Transformers
- Jurassic World
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Kong: Skull Island
- Snatched
- and more
What we believe
Order over overwhelm
Opening a shop is hundreds of small decisions. We put them in the right sequence so you always know the next one.
Sourced, not guessed
Permits, wages, and rules come from official .gov records, linked so you can check the source yourself.
Yours to keep
Your roadmap, your numbers, your progress. Save them to your account and pick up on any device.
Built for small
Carts, trailers, and neighborhood cafes, not chains. The guidance is tuned for independent operators.
Who it is for
If you are trying to sell coffee for a living, ShopLaunch is built for you.
- Aspiring owners turning a coffee dream into a real plan
- Cart and trailer owners who need permits sorted fast
- Cafe founders pricing a menu and a build-out
- Anyone who wants one clear path instead of twenty open tabs
Want to contribute?
ShopLaunch is open source. Poke around the code, open an issue, or send a pull request on GitHub. Not into pull requests? Just drop me an email and we will figure it out.
A few honest notes
On equipment
Full disclosure: I consult for Espresso Parts. I can review your equipment package and put together an analysis and quote. Just let me know.
On affiliate links
Some product links are affiliate links, and only ever for gear I personally have, use, or would endorse. By all means, do your own research first. But if you are going to buy anyway, those clicks genuinely help keep this thing running.
Ready to open your coffee shop?
Get your personalized roadmap in a few minutes. Save it, check off steps, and come back any time.