Meet Chelsea Schoeni

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

Hi Chelsea, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
In December 2020, I lost my position in a restaurant group due to financial strain the pandemic had put on the restaurant industry. For the first time since I was 15, I was unemployed. My husband (Retired Military whom retired in 2019 after 20 years of service) took me to breakfast and asked me “what do you want to do? You have worked for someone else for so long, what do YOU want?”
The answer was clear for me, I had always loved the coffee industry and where we live there was not a large coffee scene.
I knew I wanted to build a brand that inspired myself and like minded individuals. My brand is very personal which includes my three dogs as the logo-Cattle Dog Cafe. This would bring dog lovers of all kinds into a shop based around coffee and community.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
After losing my position, we drove as a family to New Mexico where I found a horse trailer which was converted into a coffee stand. It was far too fitting for our small rural town & my husband, kids & I towed it back to begin our journey of Cattle Dog Coffee. I was a road side stand serving quality and unique coffee which was new to Ramona & a fresh new business during a hard time. We quickly grew into a brick and mortar moving our entire operation into a business on main street Ramona. The business tripled. I hired staff and quickly became a staple in the community.
After 6 months, I was approached about taking over a smoothie operation in an area across town that lacked coffee. I assumed the position, lease and several staff turning this location into another brand and breakfast, smoothie, coffee shop with a fast paced environment sandwiched between two very busy restaurants.
All was working well until just over a year from my big Main Street move I was given notice to vacate from a gentleman who bought the building I was renting. He tripled my rent and gave me notice to vacate leaving me to choose whether I close my original concept and my brand child or find a way to relocate and reopen.
I quickly (with help of amazing friends) built a mobile cafe and moved into an adorable space along with a home decor store owned by two women who were customers & now friends. We pulled the concept off and just shy of a year later, we are working hard on being the local sip, shop, stay awhile storefront.
The times have been tough, rebuilding, rebranding, and restoring myself in the community while competition grew.
I am confident Cattle Dog Cafe will remain its original concept of love for dogs & coffee

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.
First things first, stop and take in the view of the surrounding mountains that we have. Located in San Diego but just far enough out from city culture we offer space and retreat. Then, come to cattle dog cafe for coffee, a bite to eat and explore our old town Ramona shops. We have some adorable boutiques that have opened in the recent years and so many are women owned. It’s quite ridiculous the level of love.
Wine at Pamo Valley winery, snacks and Ramona family naturals and a great sense of small town bar at Red Whites & Brews. You can’t go wrong spending the day on sixth and Main Street

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be where I am at without the support of my husband. He gave me the seed money, took the trip to New Mexico with me (along with our then 10 year old kids) and has fully supported my ventures that have inspired me to date. He has been there for me, helped me get through hurdles and alyss reassured me we made the right decision during the toughest times. I have found true friendships that come from my cafe and ones that have developed into business partnerships as well. Customers who started as customers and turned into genuine friendships with a vast future. Jessica, Katie, Jacey, Alexavia & Alyssa who have been with me since day one & never looked back.

Instagram: @cattledogcoffeeco

Facebook: Cattle dog cafe

Image Credits
This cute photo was for the Ramona Mighty Mites cheer calendar which Csttle Dog is the month of October