Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Tischler.
Hi Olivia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started at St. Louis University thinking I was going to be an Occupational Therapist, that is until Junior year of college. It was at that time that I felt like the Lord was calling me to open a coffee shop and use it for something greater. As resistant as I was to this calling, I finally said yes and took the plunge. I graduated college in 2019 and started to pursue opening Teleo Coffee. After many obstacles, I started in April of 2020 at the farmers markets selling my product. I was able to partner with an incredible local church named Embrace Church and we started the construction at 132 W Monroe. During the construction, I opened a little coffee cart in the parking lot to help bring attention to our new building – we called it the “Mini on Monroe” because it was our mini coffee shop before the big one! We opened our doors to Teleo in August of 2021 and we’ve been running ever since! We opened up our own roaster in November 2023 and we continue to grow! Our passion is to love our neighbors one cup at a time. We do that through local products that we bring in along with giving back to the community through things like our Love Your Neighbor profit share where 10% of the proceeds from our Love Your Neighbor latte go towards a different non profit each quarter. We seek to provide a place where there can be fellowship and community and everyone who walks in can feel seen, known and loved!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was a 22 year old with no experience – talk about struggles! It took a lot to get someone to believe in me and take a risk financially on my dream. Along with that, it took a lot of hard work to understand how to successfully run a coffee shop and there is a lot of work that people don’t realize! Basically, it just took people who were willing to believe in me and rally around my dream and help make it a reality – I wouldn’t be there without them!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Teleo is in the business of coffee and community. We seek to create an incredible product while creating an atmosphere where people can feel seen known and loved. We started roasting our own coffee in 2023 which has allowed us to bring our coffee quality to a whole new level. We bring coffees in from all over the world, all while making sure these farmers are getting fair living wages. We make some incredible drinks – a crowd favorite being the Honey Bear! It’s made with a local honey, vanilla and cinnamon. We have expanded some of our services into fun things like a coffee cart. You can get Teleo Coffee at your event you’re hosting! Whether it be a wedding, a shower or a corporate event, we can provide services for you to get handcrafted espresso drinks on the spot. Ultimately, I am proud of the environment that we have created. We have an incredible group of people who have come around Teleo and welcomed us with open arms. We absolutely love every single one of our guests and we are happy to provide a space where people can come together and have intentional conversation and connection.
What are your plans for the future?
Maybe one day we expand to another location! For now just taking it one day at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.teleocoffee.com
- Instagram: @teleocoffee
- Facebook: Teleo Coffee
