SALISBURY — When Evelyn Medina came to the United States in 1976, she knew her family had left Guatemala for lack of opportunities, but she had no idea that years later, she would come full circle.

She and her husband Rigo are the owners of Mean Mug Coffee, and these days, they have a farm in Guatemala where they grow their own coffee that they then bring back to the U.S. to roast and serve to customers.

“If you had told me 20 years ago this was where I would be, of course I would have thought you were crazy,” said Medina this past weekend at the celebration of the company’s 10th anniversary.

“We truly have come full circle,” she said. “We left because there were no opportunities there, and now we are giving people those opportunities on our farm.”

In 2015, she and Rigo opened the first Mean Mug on Fulton Street, and four years later, they moved to their current primary location on North Main Street where they still are today. As part of the move, they partnered with the S.O.A.R. program at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, a decision Medina says has brought them far more than she thinks they give. S.O.A.R. or Skills, Opportunity, Awareness, Readiness is a community college program designed specifically for adults with intellectual disabilities. Medina says the students that have come to work at Mean Mug have been not just an asset, but a gift.

And the business itself is a family affair. Medina’s niece, Ashley, has been with them since the start as well.

“I’ve been with Mean Mug more than one third of my life,” Ashley said at the anniversary event. And she has every intention of carrying on the business.

Medina says she got her work ethic from her mother, 87-year-old Maria Guzman who was also at Saturday’s event.

“She has always been a worker, so it’s no surprise that I learned my work values from her,” Medina said. “But she also taught me that if you don’t try, you will always wonder if you could have. If you fail, you’ve learned something, but if you don’t try, you get nothing.”

And that work ethic that the couple shares means they didn’t stop with one shop. In 2021, they expanded into the Charlotte area, opening a place in Northlake Mall, followed by a second location in Carolina Place Mall in Pineville. Finally, most recently, they opened a second shop on West Innes Street here in Salisbury that offers a drive through. A previous coffee shop, Buy Good Coffee out of Winston-Salem, had tried to make a go but it didn’t work. The location has nearly always been some sort of eatery, so some things were already in place, but that is where the Medinas roast their coffee for the shops.

And when you walk in, the roasting beans grab you by the nose and pull you in. Even in the drive through, the fragrant smell of the beans toasting is on the air.

“This coffee is so smooth that you won’t need cream or sugar,” Medina couldn’t help but brag. The beans are roasted to different levels depending on the type of coffee they will be for, she said, but they always create a cup that has no bitterness or aftertaste.

She and Rigo are heading back to Guatemala shortly to work the fields for a few weeks, but Ashley will be here to hold down the fort.

And the business is one that believes in being a part of its community. At the anniversary event, they invited several small businesses and artists to set up booths so people in the community can get to know them. They often host local artists on the shop walls, and advertise local events and fundraisers on an ongoing basis.

“This community has been so supportive of us through this and the least we can do is give back,” said Medina.