Exploring Life & Business with Ashley Page of Rustic Grounds Coffee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Page. 

Hi Ashley, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2020 I was a part of the millions of students affected by the Global pandemic that caused many schools to continue by virtual education. Resulting in my Senior year being very limited. Yet, this unexpected pandemic did not stop me from chasing my dreams. I graduated from Cannon County High School in May of 2020. Following graduation; Rustic Grounds, a mobile coffee trailer in Cannon County, became a reality! As most children, I was confronted with a silly, yet daunting question everyone encounters. “What are you going to do when you grow up?” I rarely ever knew the answer to this very prominent question. My answer was constantly revolving, never staying the same for very long. I wanted to be a part of everything, never wanting to limit myself to one profession. The idea of being a cosmetologist, a nurse, a teacher, a fashion designer, a radiologist, a forensic scientist, and so many more, always challenged my mind. In December of 2019, I began the second semester of my senior year! It was then I decided I was going to start a business of my own. I faced one final question. What was this business going to be? 

From the ‘Grounds’ Up… 

I had obtained a job serving/waitressing at a small ‘mom & pop’ restaurant that was nestled within my hometown. I worked at this establishment from the age of 15 until the age of 18. Unfortunately, this popular eatery was extremely threatening to my mental and physical health. Throughout this time, I struggled with extreme exhaustion from school and long work hours, but I didn’t let that stop me from accomplishing my goals! The more I worked on my future, the more I began to love coffee which was my early morning pick-me-up. Finally, after much thought, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go into the coffee business! 

Despite my lack of experience as a barista, I thought running a coffee shop wouldn’t be that hard, would it? After spending time wondering how I would start this adventure, the perfect idea came to my mind! A Mobile Coffee Trailer! I began my search and found the perfect trailer. The trailer was purchased off Facebook Marketplace in February of 2020, pre-pandemic. The trailer was an absolute disaster, some might even say it was “a piece of junk.” Nevertheless, I had a dream and was determined to make it happen! 

The first couple months of renovations where excruciatingly slow. Between attending school during the week and working endlessly on the weekends, I was exhausted. Yet, that could not stop my motivation. My schedule was quite full, but I spent all my free time working on the trailer. While I was at work on the weekends my parents worked diligently on the trailer, accomplishing task that were exceptionally large for one person to handle. 

In April of 2020, something unexpected created a minor setback. Due to Covid-19, I had been laid off work due to the temporary closing of the establishment I was currently working at. For a family that was always on the go, we did not know how to handle the sudden open schedule. With this pandemic forcing us to be at home, renovations on the trailer went into full swing. 

For half of the renovations, I was under the age of eighteen. I pushed myself to pay for everything in cash. With no credit, a bank loan was not a consideration. Flash forward to September of 2020, so much blood, sweat, and tears were put into the trailer. No, that’s not even enough emphasis on how rough this transition was! After many injuries, gallons of sweat, more tears than you would ever imagine, and a decent size fire less than 24 hours prior to the health inspection, the stress was not over. At this time, I had accepted a position for a full-time corporate job. Only being at this job for less than two weeks, I knew I would not be able to stay and clean up the chaos from the fire, I had to go to work. My parents took the initiative to stay home from work and help me by operating tirelessly on the trailer. They finished just in time, with me arriving home before the scheduled health inspection, amazed at this accomplishment! Thankfully, I passed the inspection with flying colors and the trailer was ready to make its grand appearance for the following weekend. To my surprise, everyone in my hometown was incredibly supportive and could not wait to support my dream! 

Did you think the trailer’s grand opening was going to go easily? If you did, I could guarantee it was the complete opposite. The day prior to opening day was a Friday, I had been awake all night long in unbearable pain. I couldn’t even walk! After being in the emergency room for almost twelve hours I was finally released. From the moment I arrived home, I started preparing everything for the next day even though I was still suffering from overwhelming pain. My family encouraged me to postpone the opening, but I refused to wait for my opportunity any longer! 

Saturday morning, still not feeling well, I pulled out of the driveway with the trailer attached. The bed of the truck loaded down with coolers and a generator. Throughout all this craziness, no one had thought about the fact that I had never driven with a trailer attached. Yet, this was the least of my worries! After arriving at the opening location and meeting my first employee for the very first time, the trailer was ready to open. I was in complete shock and amazed at how well this new business had done that day. It seemed as if almost everyone in the county showed up, we ended up staying open 2 hours longer than anticipated! 

I continued to work my full-time corporate job during the week and ran the trailer on the weekends at multiple venues. Early January in 2021, a fellow small business owner informed me that they were moving into a larger building across the square, leaving their current building up for rent. I decided to go look at this building without consulting anyone and it was perfect. Envisioning my future, I made plans to turn the dressing rooms into a kitchen before I had even brought the idea to my parents. While Rustic Grounds is a sole proprietorship and I am the only person financially responsible for this business, my family’s opinion is extremely important to me. My family did express growing concerns about this decision in making this full-time when the business was less than a year old. However, they supported me in this decision, and I took a risk in hopes to seal this deal! 

Opening Day was more than expected! The new Rustic Grounds location opened at eight o’clock on April 10th, 2021, the line of customers lingered out the door all day long and it felt like 4 o’clock came in no time. I was in shock, the girls I had hired were beyond tired. They all paused to eat some pizza, which I had provided, before beginning with the cleaning and closing duties after such an amazing day. 

Flash forward almost a year later and Rustic Grounds is a booming business. This business is beginning to outgrow our current building, allowing us to think about building/expanding! Rustic Grounds currently offers over 20+ drink options, over 15 + breakfast/lunch options, fresh baked goodies every single day, and so much more. The RG Mobile Trailer is Booked for over half of 2022 and is expanding to offering fresh food options. I also make custom cakes out of Rustic Grounds kitchen when I have time, even though I am not professionally trained, customers love them! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! The biggest obstacle, obviously, has been COVID. Aside from our current national pandemic, I’ve always struggled with my age. I was only 18 when the trailer opened and was about two months short of turning 19 when I opened my brick & mortar full-time. I always bump into the issue of “there’s no way you did this yourself” or “I best her parents paid for all of this”. This is extremely difficult for me, especially knowing how hard I’ve worked to pay for everything. I do rely on my parent’s opinions quite often, and they did help with all the renovations. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Rustic Grounds Coffee?
Rustic Grounds is a small coffee shop located in the heart of Cannon County, Tennessee. We are very known for our delicious and “out-of-the-box” coffees as well as our food items. Our customer favorites are 100% the turkey & pesto panini and our breakfast tacos. Aside from our physical location, Rustic Grounds is known for its mobile trailer! The RG Mobile trailer is an old 2-horse trailer converted into a mobile coffee shop, that is definitely the factor that sets us apart from most other coffee shops. 

The thing I’m most proud of brand-wise is how rapidly the brand is growing. We have people traveling from surrounding counties to try our coffee! We also have a very decent social media following! 

The biggest thing I want all the readers and my customers to know is that here at Rustic Grounds we strive to make your visit with us 150% worth the stop. We are always wanting to chat with you, we live to remember all of our regulars and their drinks. If your kids won their basketball game we want to know, we want to cheer them on! We grow such a strong bond with our customers, we really want you to feel as comfortable as possible at RG while getting A+ quality and service! 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is summer vacation with my family. We vacation at the same beach, same hotel, and even stay in the exact same room every year! This tradition started with my father’s side of the family when he was a child. When he met my mother they decided to keep the tradition going. The very first year I attended this vacation I was only about 2 months old, due to multiple issues I haven’t been back since I was 17 and I can definitely say that even though it is the same place, same beach, same people, and even the same exact restaurants that I have experienced for 17 years of my life, these past couple years have been very upsetting not being there. I wish to continue this tradition with a family of my own one day!

Pricing:

• All of our drinks are under $5.00 as is
• All of our food items are under $8.00

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://rustic-grounds-coffee.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: @rusticgroundscoffee_
• Facebook: Rustic Grounds Coffee

Image Credits
Cassie Marie Photography
Bridget Michelle