Family-owned Dos Cabezas Coffee Co. Keeps Willcox Buzzing
Brewed for Success
By R.J. Cohn
If you’ve missed being inside a real coffee house with a veranda-style porch and a soft couch across from a brick fireplace that you can sink into, then you haven’t stepped into the Dos Cabezas Coffee Company in Willcox.
It’s not just the historic 110-year-old Harry Saxon House – added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 – that draws customers to Dos Cabezas for outstanding brewed coffee, a host of espresso drinks, or a strawberry-lime scone at 6 a.m. seven days a week.
It’s the genuine, small-town charm delivered to everyone who walks in with an engaging smile and real-time conversation by the five members of the ever-busy Finley family who keep Dos Cabezas hopping, making the coffee house the hub of a ranching, agricultural community.
There is something for everyone with Dos Cabezas' large menu
But not before struggling through their first year in a business they had to learn on the fly, even though Dos Cabezas was the only coffee house in town at the time. It was not just about learning how to make caramel cartwheel and pistachio dream lattes; it was learning to run a business, dealing with profit margins, inventory, payrolls, developing a marketing plan, and a customer base.
“It was a rough road at first,” said Ashley. “We opened in April, a slow season, not knowing how we were going to make the next rent check. We love this community because it’s our home, and we wanted to keep this open as a place for everyone to come for coffee in a comfortable, historic house with two big couches where they could enjoy being with friends. We realized we had some work to do. Our first year felt like one big, hot mess.”
But the tight-knit Finley’s regrouped, got their family dynamics in order and made it work.
“After the first year, we decided not to have employees and run the business as a family,” said Chloe Finley. “We’re a strong, close family. We refocused and turned things around.”
Suddenly they had a business that was beginning to flourish, and the buzz in the Willcox about the coffee shop on South Haskell with the big, white metal coffee sign in front of the Saxon House that went out of its way to make you feel like family was quickly spreading.
“We wanted to make sure that everyone who walked in was cared for with a personable touch they can’t get anywhere else,” said Ashley. “We really mean it when we say good morning, how’s it going. We wanted to talk to our customers and hear how things are going in their lives. It’s what neighbors in a community do.”
The Finley's downhome friendliness didn’t go unnoticed.
Last year, the community voted Dos Cabezas as number one in the Herald Review’s ‘Best Of’ in customer service.
Since then, their clientele has grown steadily. They have three major morning rushes, created a massive menu board of practically every latte drink imaginable, along with dozens of tea selections – even prickly pear – and a variety of smoothies and Italian sodas.
Dos Cabezas Coffee Co Family
From left: Jake, Jasper, Ashley, Chloe and Baby Annaleigh, and Dakota.
Even more impressive, Ashley starts baking Dos Cabezas’ pastries at 4 a.m. each day with homemade delights like pecan pie cookies, lemon-poppyseed scones, cheesecake smores and chocolate croissants along with breakfast burritos.
“We literally had to learn everything on the seat-of-our-pants from day one,” said Ashley’s son Jasper, who had only a shred of experience as a barista years ago. “It was a lot of a lot of trial and error, but now it feels like we're a smooth, well-oiled machine. We feel we’re a big part of this community, and we’re behind everything that’s local.”
The Finleys still have more irons in the fire for Dos Cabezas. They’re working on outfitting a coffee trailer for local events and adding a line of deli sandwiches to their menu. They also hope to purchase the historic Saxon House in the near future.
“We’ve got a long way to go yet,” said Ashley. “But we’re loving every minute of it, especially balancing our lives with a coffee shop that’s open seven days a week. It’s a challenge, but we’re getting the hang of it just fine.”
Enjoy a sweet treat or something for breakfast with freshly made pastries.