California-based business Equator Coffees & Teas has been named as the state’s Small Business of the Year by the US Small Business Administration (SBA).
Equator Coffees and Teas, based in San Rafael, was launched in 1995 by co-owners and partners Brooke McDonnell and Helen Russell. They launched it in their Marin-county garage, but it has now grown to into a 5,500-square-foot flagship roastery in San Rafael with a thriving wholesale business.
It employees around 90 staff, and has retail cafes at LinkedIn, micro-kitchens at Google, and three retail stores in Northern California with a further two on the way.
It is the first LGBT-owned business – certified as an ‘LGBT Business Enterprise’ (LGBTBE) by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) – to receive the award.
