Gorge Local — In Business: Pony Espresso has a bigger mission in mind

Angela Cooper hasn’t had any free time recently.

Since late March, Cooper has spent much of her time running the newest coffee stand on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge, Pony Espresso, located in Dallesport.

In fact, she said, Pony Espresso is the only coffee stand on the stretch of State Route 14 between Bingen and its connection with Interstate 82, just north of Umatilla, Ore. Situated on the south side of the highway, the building is easily recognizable as a big red farmhouse-looking structure. Just a couple years ago, the building housed the Blue Barn Grill, and before that, RJ’s Tavern.

When Cooper, 40, discovered that the owners of the building were once again looking for someone to lease to, “I jumped on it.”

Pony Espresso, as you might imagine from the name, serves coffee, smoothies, and other various all-natural and organic beverages, as well as homemade cinnamon rolls. Last week, Cooper began partnering with Carson-based Mexican restaurant La Gula to serve breakfast burritos, which come with sausage, chorizo, bacon, and vegetarian options.

With a bit of luck and good timing, Pony Espresso will be the jumping-off point for what Cooper said is planned to become a “community-run,” joint business venture. While the coffee shop fills the front add-on portion of the building, walk through the French doors inside, and you’ll find a dining room and kitchen, just waiting for someone to breathe life into it. If everything pans out, Cooper, along with business partner Jake Strain, who also owns Dallesport-based Summit Excavation LLC, will open a restaurant in the larger portion of the building.

For the restaurant, she wants it “female-empowered-run” — a place that is operated by strong-willed women. It would be family-friendly, at least until 9 at night, when “the adults get to play.

“I don’t want to say like 'Coyote Ugly,' but wouldn’t that be so fun?” Cooper remarked. It would be something positive too for the locals, who Cooper said miss having a hangout spot since the Blue Barn Grill closed its doors. She said she wants it to be like a “family reunion every night.”

The menu will feature classic Americana and barbecue fare, with “an awesome, primo burger.”

Cooper said they plan to hold an opening for the restaurant in July, but she said there is work to be done. Together, the partners submitted drawings for a remodel of the kitchen, and now it is just a matter of finishing it on time. In the restaurant, the sink area and drains need work done, said Cooper. She also has plans to open up a wall between the kitchen and dry storage area to allow for better workflow and more storage and organizational space.

Admittedly, Cooper said she has been a bit picky about the type of partner she would want to go into business with. But with Strain, she said the partnership has been “just right." Strain hopes to soon sign the lease on the building, owned by Russell Kramer, which will then allow the two business partners to start up work on the restaurant.

Of Kramer, Cooper said that, “he’s a good guy, he’s upstanding, he gives back to the community,” she said.

Cooper placed emphasis on the community aspect. Once the business is all paid off, Cooper said she wants to apply for a nonprofit status for the joint businesses and eventually donate them to the community. Proceeds from the businesses, she said, will go “directly to serve youth.”

Her idea for a community-run, youth-serving business had been brewing in the back of her mind for a few years now. Around five years ago, Cooper moved her youth program, which she manages and operates herself, to a ranch located just down the road, at the request of a local family. The program primarily serves female youths and teenagers, although she has taken in girls and a few boys ranging from ages 4-28.

Cooper called the ranch-based youth program her “Island of Misfit Toys,” in a joking manner, but it is an undertaking she truly believes in.

“I get tired of the children being left behind,” Cooper said.

She can also relate to the occupants there because Cooper herself was a foster kid. Having left “an exceptionally violent home” at the age of 14, Cooper was influenced by her experiences growing up to create a youth program, which allows them to spend time away from their daily lives and reset. With parental permission, Cooper takes kids in “who could use some space.” She was adamant that she doesn’t take money for the work — only accepting gifts for the two ponies and the horse which currently occupy the ranch.

Having done fundraisers in the past and worked to build support for local youths in different programs throughout her life, Cooper said fundraisers sometimes may not be as effective as they might seem. She said the lack of transparency, not often knowing what the money is going towards or how it is being spent, can erode people’s trust in those programs. With a community-run joint business, operated as a nonprofit, Cooper hopes to eliminate the ambiguity and remove some of the filters the money passes through between the donors and the recipients of the support.

“I think parents, in general, don’t listen enough to their kids,” Cooper said. “They have fantastic ideas and fantastic energy … I think it’s cliché for adults to not take them seriously.”

As an example, some local kids had complained about the lack of streetlights in their neighborhood — “a five-block chunk that’s just dark.”

Cooper started calling people, eventually getting a hold of State Rep. Chris Corry, who then connected her with County Commissioner and Chair Dave Sauter. The outreach she performed ultimately ended with Klickitat PUD taking a look at the situation and concluding that a repair would be lengthy and expensive — “but I got $55 towards it.”

When things get settled, she is looking to bring on a couple employees to help out, so that she can keep her business open seven days a week. Until then, it’s just been her taking orders and making drinks since Pony Espresso opened for business.

“This little pony liked to kick me in the face all along. It really battled me to the last step,” Cooper said about the project. “But the moment you think you’re about to fail, you’re really about to succeed.”

In between talking with Columbia Gorge News about her mission, Cooper would get up and take orders from people approaching the drive-thru window. She told one customer from Montana about her feelings toward the project, which is only in the beginning stages — “It hit me and I can’t let go of it.”

Pony Espresso is open Tuesday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.