Broadening Horizons
Downtown Des Moines coffee shop brings people together through caffeine and conversation
Horizon Line Coffee, a new coffee shop and roastery in downtown Des Moines offers more than just a quick cup of joe for your morning commute: it’s a place where community, inclusion and equality can be fostered. The owners, Brad Penna and Nam Ho, moved from sunny California to the cornfields of Iowa to chase their dream of building a community of people who encourage and accept each other in all walks of life.
How did you become friends, and at what point did you decide to open a coffee shop?
Ho: We both went to school in California called Pomona, and then post-graduation we both worked for the university in residential education. Brad was responsible for [Resident Assistants] and I was working in the [Internet Technology] department. I realized quickly that it wasn’t something that I wanted to do. If we spent more time at work talking about coffee things, that’s a tell-tale sign about what we should really be doing.
When you were deciding on a place to start your business, what drew you to Des Moines?
Ho: We wanted to be a welcoming space for all people, where people from different backgrounds would have a space to interact, and I think Des Moines really offers that. When you order a coffee and you’re sitting there, you’re able to converse and interact with people from different cultures.
How have you been cultivating the cultural, communal, and coffee growth of Des Moines since opening?
Penna: Part of what we’ve been doing is just getting to know people [in the coffee industry]. We share a lot of the same visions, we all want to do a lot of the same things, so it starts with building community within coffee culture as opposed to something that’s divisive and strictly competition.
Ho: It’s great to be a place where other baristas come and hang out. I didn’t expect how welcoming people from the same industry would be. We’re obviously young and this is our first coffee shop business, but they’re always willing to provide us with advice. Back home, everything is more of a rat race, but we haven’t seen that here.
All of the coffee at your shop is produced ethically. Why is it so important to you that everyone in the supply chain is being fairly treated?
Penna: Historically speaking, coffee has been viewed substantially differently than other industries. In the wine industry, the majority of the industry are European families who have been doing this forever; people value it. Then you have coffee, it’s something you drink every day and it’s become a commodity. The people who produce the coffee are often exploited, and I think it’s because they aren’t always viewed as valuable. We want to showcase the farmers that grew this and put a lot of time and effort into it. We want to make sure that we’re not exploiting someone in a different part of the world just because we can’t see them.
Anything else?
Penna: I always want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about. If anyone has enough passion and is willing to not sleep for a while, you can make it work. We’re still learning things as we go, but if anyone ever has questions we’re more than happy to share what we’ve learned the hard way.
