Valley coffeehouse brews up community connection

Hooligans Coffeehouse is committed to making a positive impact through fair trade and community building.

Brinton Colburn (BS Business Administration '09) had never considered opening a coffee shop when his childhood friend and entrepreneur Logan Antelman floated the idea two years ago.

Colburn remembers the exact moment he heard the idea.

"I laughed. 'A coffee shop? I don’t even drink coffee!'" he recalls. But something about the idea lingered. "Neither of us knew anything about coffee. But we love community and understand how to create that space."

Colburn eventually agreed to the idea on one condition: His friend Adam Holliefield (BS Supply Chain Management '19), who has worked in the specialty coffee industry for nearly 10 years, had to be involved. In December 2024, just one year after their first planning meeting, Colburn, Holliefield, and Antelman opened Hooligans Coffeehouse in Mesa, Arizona.

Juggling full-time jobs while launching Hooligans Coffeehouse was no small feat for its three founders. Balancing work, family, friends, and health proved challenging in the early stages. However, by sharing business responsibilities, hiring great employees, and delegating leadership duties to a trusted managerial team, Colburn, Holliefield, and Antelman have found a rhythm that allows them to maintain balance while growing their business.

Holliefield likens the adjustment of founding a business to being a first-year college student and learning to balance school, studying, and work.

"It's a big shock, and it takes time to adjust," says Holliefield. "For us, it isn’t the monetary reward, but the satisfaction of our work and the impact we're creating that motivates us. But it doesn't have to be all consuming: You can find a happy balance."

Colburn hopes that Hooligans serves as an example to other hopeful entrepreneurs.

"You can be a top performer at your job, start something on the side, and succeed," says Colburn. "It sounds cheesy, but I hope our story motivates someone who has always wanted to take that leap."

Caffeinated beginnings

Holliefield knew he wanted to pursue a career in coffee while working as a barista in college and partnering with Press Coffee to complete his W. P. Carey senior project.

"I enjoyed working with Press Coffee's founders and learning about the business side of coffee, particularly in areas like margin analysis, cost of goods sold, and overall financial performance," says Holliefield.

Before founding Hooligans and becoming director of coffee and supply chain at Merit Coffee, Holliefield worked for various organizations in coffee-related roles, including coffee educator, consultant, and purchasing manager. Outside the coffee industry, Colburn has worked as a loan executive for the Valley of the Sun United Way and currently serves on several boards, including the National Future Farmers of America Foundation, a youth organization preparing members for leadership and careers in agriculture, education, medicine, and more.

Hooligans may be new to the Valley, but the company is already making an impact by purchasing some of their coffee directly from producers and roasters in Colombia, allowing Hooligans to directly fund the coffee project and farmers and increasing their profits by up to 300%.

"It's important to us that Hooligans provides impactful opportunities for people, whether through the coffee we source or the people we employ," says Holliefield.

While each Hooligans founder brings a unique skill set to the business, they agree that building and supporting the community is a top priority, and the coffeehouse has already hosted several community development events, including car and motorcycle meetups, live music, and book signings. For Colburn, one of the most rewarding aspects of the job is watching customers become regulars.

"People gravitate to Hooligans and make it part of their daily routines," says Colburn.

While Colburn never envisioned himself as an entrepreneur, inspiration struck closer to home. His wife, Allison, had already built a thriving business with Wylde Salon in Gilbert, Arizona. Watching her navigate the highs and lows of running a salon gave him the confidence to take the leap with Hooligans.

Colburn says he would never have stepped into the world of entrepreneurship if it hadn't been for his wife, and her commitment to Wylde Salon gave him insight into the dedication required to build a successful organization.

"The challenging part of opening a business is that you don't realize how much time and effort you're pouring into it until things have calmed down," says Colburn.

As Hooligans grows, Colburn, Antelman, and Holliefield look forward to creating more opportunities for community building and encouraging long-term employee growth.

"People and businesses, more than anything else, have the power to change the world positively or negatively," says Holliefield. "I want Hooligans to have a positive impact in the community for our employees and customers."