Brewing coffee, with sustainability in mind

IOWA CITY — When Ian Castillo’s friends started talking about opening a coffee shop, at first he gave them advice like “you guys should start doing this.”

By the time the doors opened, he was saying, “We should start doing this.”

Castillo is now a co-owner of Daydrink Coffee, located at 125 S. Dubuque St. on Iowa City’s Pedestrian Mall. The business has been in operation since 2020.

“After experiencing the thoughtfulness and passion that went into operating Daydrink, I decided to join the team as a co-owner,” Castillo said.

Daydrink is a coffee shop that takes its commitment to the environment seriously, Castillo said. The shop uses glass jars for all of its to-go drinks, as well as for its retail beans.

“At our core, it’s something we believe that many businesses should consider as part of their operations,” Castillo says. “I like the idea that you can build a sustainability-focused company in the middle of Iowa and still make a global impact.

“Since Daydrink has only used glass jars for to-go and retail containers, we've been able to help reduce single-use plastic in our community.”

Castillo says the response from customers in Iowa City has been very positive.

“It catches people off guard the first time they experience it,” he said. “But once we’re able to have a dialogue and talk about the benefits, there’s an excitement that they get.”

One year into starting the business, Castillo and his co-owners decided they wanted to begin roasting their own coffee. They knew they would need a loan to get the necessary equipment. That’s why Castillo connected with Kaitlin Byers of Kiva Iowa.

Kiva gives entrepreneurs access to the microlending platform to raise zero-interest, zero-fee, extended-grace-period loans. The loans can be for up to $15,000, and lenders can give as little as $25 at a time.

Daydrink applied for and got a $15,000 loan, which was quickly funded.

“It was a smooth process,” Castillo said. “We really enjoyed working with Kaitlin on the process, and I’ve become a big advocate for Kiva now that I’ve seen what it’s able to do for businesses in the area.”

Since receiving the loan, Daydrink has opened a second location at 518 Bowery St., which Castillo notes was the original location for the New Pioneer Food Co-Op.

“We’re happy to continue that lineage of providing an impact on the community the same way that the Co-Op did,” he said. “Also, the Bowery Street location is accessible to cars compared to the Ped Mall, so we’re now able to serve a lot more people.

“Our hope is to continue to provide an incredible love of coffee and to be a resource for sustainability at a local scale,” Castillo said. “If we continue to do that, we’ll have reached what we are striving for.”

To learn more about Daydrink, visit its page on Facebook at https://www.daydrink.coffee/. To learn more about Kiva Iowa, visit https://newbo.co/kiva.

The author is communications director for NewBoCo.

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