Meet Aaron Schofield: Luana’s Coffee & Beer Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Schofield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, what do you attribute your success to?
Very early on into my venture I made the decision to be as transparent with my instagram followers as possible. No matter the outcome of the day failure or success, I felt it was important to let everyone connect to the luanas story. Doing so I built a safe place for myself and others to share their own entrepreneurial experiences, laugh at my screw ups, ask questions, or simply congratulate me on a successful day. With that my brand naturally meant more to my customers and supporters. We connected and built everlasting rapport.  People love a good story, especially one they feel part of.  

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My life like so many others has had its ups and downs. It’s really my own doing as I’ve had jobs and opportunities others maybe would’ve been more than happy to have. But to be extremely honest with you, I learned early on in my adulthood that I like so many others deal with anxiety. Different things make me feel different ways. Like the thought of living a life thats already been lived, or not leaving something behind for my own legacy or more importantly family. That being said, I’ve always been the type to try turning a negative into a positive, and what I realized is that my issues with anxiety are best healed by staying busy, and pushing forward no matter what. One might say I’m running from my problems, I would say I’m facing them head on. Using them to my advantage, and I’m very happy doing so. So if I wanted the world to know one thing about my work. It would be that the actual coffee shop is simply just the facade. Luana’s is a story about someones life. It shows on our menu, our cups, and the placement of the furniture and items within the our walls. The story is forever changing as my life goes on. I like it that way and I guess the Luana’s customer/followers do too. The goals never been to just build a coffee shop. The goals to create a space for self expression, finding determination, giving hugs, and building community, all while enjoying coffee in the morning and beer at night.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I actually end up doing this pretty often as a lot my friends don’t live here Phoenix. From a foodie perspective and without being able to eat a my own restaurant of course. We start the day at Lux for coffee. Then brunch at Ocotillo and I’d tell them to order the Iron skillet pancake. After brunch we’d grab lunch at my friend Ivan Jacobs restaurant Anhelo. Here you would be a fool to not just let Ivan make you what he feels like making you, he’s a master chef. From there we’d grab a drink before dinner at the welcome diner under the neon lights with all the hip locals. It would have to be white fish sandwiches for dinner at Windsor finished off with Ice cream next door at Churn. We’d drink and dance the night away from there at Valley Bar, ending the night at my friends taco truck turned fastest growing taco shops in Phoenix Tacos Tijuana. We would definitely have some naps in between or at the very least some rest and relaxation at the Clarendons jacuzzi.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My little cousin Woody Schofield is only 19 years old. He plays college football for Southern Oregon University, and has pretty much been with me from the beginning. Without him by my side I can honestly say I don’t think I would’ve made it here. Between his old soul and his football mindset is an extremely well rounded teenager. He’s a product of good parenting, as my uncle and aunt have given him enough space to be a free thinker, but also enough guidance to understand quality ethics and that no matter what family comes first. I’ve only met maybe 2 other people in my life that understand myself, my brand, and my goals as well as Woody, one is my brother Ryan and the other my girlfriend Kylee.

Website: www.luanascoffee.com
Instagram: @Luana_Coffee_and_beer
Twitter: @Luana_Coffee_and_beer
Facebook: @Luana_Coffee_and_beer
Yelp: @Luana_Coffee_and_beer
Youtube: Two_guys_oneKy

Image Credits
first two photos were taken by: @jose_jr_martinez