Meet Tim Stevenson

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

Hi Tim, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We’ve both really liked the idea of wholly owning our own business and running it on our own merits. And the vending machines were a perfect combination of our skills that we’ve been building up through various side hustles, hobbies, projects, and other things that have caught our interest throughout the years. We went into it knowing it was going to be a lot of work, but having each other’s support at each step of the way, solving the next problem we didn’t know would come up or solutioning for something we didn’t know we’d need has been just as fun as it’s been challenging. It started with us just casually looking into seeing if we could even start the business and after neither of us chickened out and would back down from daring each other to figure out the next step, we just didn’t stop until we had a few locations and multiple machines ready!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Both of the owners of Bizarre Bazaar Vending have corporate day jobs and realize the importance of establishing roots and meaningful connections with the neighborhood around us. Our Creative vending machines are curated to be a delightful moment and create joy during a hectic day!

We wanted to provide a passive marketplace to support local artists, and are proud to have partnered with over 20 local an Diego Artists and makers in the last year!

Easily our proudest moment so far, is the partnership with Candace OTC to provide free morning after pills in our vending machines! We love being able to provide free healthcare to those who need it!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, we’re a little biased on getting a drink from Little Miss Brewing or a coffee from Torque Coffee since we have vending machines there. One of the best burgers in the city comes from Hayes Burger in Barrio Logan and on Adams Ave. We also would say you should check out longplay.hifi for an omikase and listen to some music. And for checking out a show, you can’t really beat seeing live music at the Casbah.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Dave from Clutch Effects Arcade. Dave sold us our first machine (and a few others) and has assisted moving our vending machines around San Diego and helping point us in the right direction when needed.

Heather from Little Miss Brewing in Normal Heights. Heather at Little Miss Brewing Normal Heights got us our second location and her enthusiasm and support for our project has helped put boosters on our success.

Andy and Nanelle the owners of Torque Coffee–We are so inspired by their passion for coffee and farmer equity. We are so honored to be small part of their legacy in San Diego.

Website: https://www.bizarrebazaarvending.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizarrebazaarvending