Artwork by Red Giant Art
There may be no one more more excited to launch a business than the three guys behind MoonGoat Coffee.
On a recent afternoon, I Heart Costa Mesa caught up with the founding trio — David Yardley, Martin Stern and Mark Evans — in a Santa Ana warehouse. The digs are acting as the temporary base of operations until MoonGoat’s Weststside Costa Mesa HQ is ready.
These guys? Beyond ecstatic. Quick to laugh, new ideas popping up seemingly on the fly, eager to explain their coffee-making process — they had it all.
In short, MoonGoat Coffee is going to be a Costa Mesa hometown coffee roaster and coffeehouse along Placentia Avenue.
Supplementing the brews are food and live entertainment. And, given that area’s dearth of such places, this spot appears poised to have a big effect on the Westside corridor.
Logo courtesy of MoonGoat Coffee
Juiced: MoonGoat Coffee founders Martin Stern, Mark Evans and David Yardley are some of the most enthusiastic new business owners you’ll ever meet.
Photo: Bradley Zint
These guys are taking their love of coffee and putting Costa Mesa twists on it. For one, there’s the name: MoonGoat. They say the moon signifies a neutral space and is symbolic of the late-night Westside hangout MoonGoat will be.
Then there’s the goat part and its dual meaning. First, legend has it that goats first discovered coffee in Africa. Second, Costa Mesa’s old-school nickname is Goat Hill. The guys say they may even get some “goat decor” tucked into their coffeehouse to top it off.
The vision for MoonGoat coffee has been brewing in Evans’ head for about 10 years. He recalled how, as a person in recovery who no longer went to bars at night, he went to coffeehouses instead.
“I lived at them. I loved them,” Evans says. “It was a good place, a source of community.”
Brewing Change: MoonGoat Coffee founder, Mark Evans, testing recipes for his Westside Costa Mesa coffeehouse, opening later this year.
Photos: Bradley Zint
Evans has envisioned MoonGoat as a bar alternative, an open and inviting, community-centric place to drink coffee and tea and offer television viewing, live entertainment and art.
Yardley brings to the business a wealth of coffee know-how. He has worked for Diedrich Coffee (which started in Costa Mesa-adjacent Newport Beach) and Starbucks. He started as a barista at the latter and worked his way up into management and operations, but eventually quit and started his own consultancy business.
Stern is a paperwork machine dubbed “operations genius and taskmaster.”
MoonGoat is well on its way after getting its requisite permissions from the City Planning Commission in May. The business will take over a roughly 4,200-square-foot spot at 1985 Placentia Ave., with both early-morning and late operating hours.
Once open — they’re shooting for a December-ish timeline — expect to walk into an establishment vibing a light industrial style, like the Westside itself.
“Think of it as a microbrewery for coffee,” Yardley says.
Plans And Place: MoonGoat Coffee is working toward opening at 1985 Placentia Avenue in Westside Costa Mesa by year end.
There will be bistro, patio and lounge seating. Roasting will be on-site, as well as in-house made breads, pastries and other ingredients for the coffee.
Live entertainment, from open-mic nights to poetry readings and light music, will supplement the coffee experience. Evans, a former budding rock star, could take the stage too.
During our interview, the team began brainstorming a future ‘quote wall’ for the shop, maybe with their slogans, like, “Coffee roasters, people lovers,” or “God’s energy drink.” They also flirted with the bold idea of plastering up, “The art of appearing creative is hiding what you stole.”
Or maybe, “Grind it till you find it?” Or, “The best part of staying up is MoonGoat in your cup.”
MoonGoat is sourcing its coffee from around the world: Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Kenya, to name a few. Like wine, they want to show people how the drink has unique flavors based on where it’s grown.
And, as Yardley notes, they want to stress coffee’s seemingly unknown origin.
“We really want people to know coffee is a fruit,” he explains. “It’s naturally sweet.”
The trio behind MoonGoat hearts Costa Mesa. Ask them about it and the love becomes abundantly clear.
One reason Yardley left his Starbucks job was to remain in Costa Mesa, rather than move north to Starbucks HQ in Seattle. Nowadays, he’s an Eastsider.
Martin? He’s a different story. He lives in Long Beach but is gunning to get closer to MoonGoat, maybe relocating to the Westside.
Like Yardley, Evans is an Eastsider. He’s lived in town about 30 years, give or take times when he left. But the Mesa’s gravity keeps him locked.
“I always find myself coming back to Costa Mesa,” he says.
Don’t we all. ♥
