Today we’d like to introduce you to Matteson Rushing.
Hi Matteson, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We are a mother-daughter duo that started with a small coffee cart called “Chillybean Coffee Co.” in Norcross, Georgia. Mattie started as a young college barista, eventually moving up to train in New York City and Italy for coffee. This ultimately inspired a school project which became the business plan for the original Chillybean coffee cart. Amber closed her successful photography company and dove head first with Mattie into the world of coffee and food. Chillybean graciously served to the art festivals, weddings, music festivals and movie sets in the Atlanta area starting in 2017.
With hard work, we were able to open our first gourmet eatery in Sugar Hill in January of 2019. We serve locally sourced products and everything served is made fresh in-house. We serve gourmet espresso, breakfast cocktails, bottomless mimosas & bloody Marys, fresh buttermilk biscuits, stuffed French Toast, Shrimp & Grits and even more. In 2021, the younger daughter of the family, Annabel Rushing, took over as the restaurant’s general manager. Bringing you only the best products and services, we hope to make a small impact on your life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Our biggest struggle to date was of course, Covid-19. We did have to shut down our restaurant for well over a month. We did have an advantage over other businesses, however, we were able to utilize our coffee cart outdoors, going to different neighborhoods and serving our pastries, buttermilk biscuits, coffees and milkshakes. We were thankful to have more revenue coming in during this time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I, Mattie Rushing, have been a barista for going on seven years now. I started at Cafe 45 South in Norcross, Georgia then moved to Roswell Provisions while in college. Kelly Smith, the owner of Roswell Provisions, was one of my biggest influences in starting my own business. I then opened Chillybean Coffee Co. the coffee truck, after I created a marketing plan for a project in college. I then trained in New York with Intelligencia Coffee then in Florence, Italy at the Espresso Academy shortly after opening the brick-and-mortar location. I fell in love with the art of coffee. I now train our baristas as well as offer fun coffee classes teaching about the history and brewing of coffee, then latte art and flavor profiling.
How do you think about happiness?
Coffee and the Mountains. Our restaurant on the inside is actually influenced by nature and the beauty of the Swiss Alps, where us the Rushing family used to live. A tiny coffee shop on top of a mountain would probably bring me the most joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: rushingtradingco.com
- Instagram: rushingtradingco
