By Juan Fourneau, JEFAS Magazine
When Maritza Jeanett Martinez couldn’t find milk to practice making lattes before The Coffee Belt’s grand opening in Muscatine, Iowa, she grabbed horchata from her family’s Mexican restaurant next door. That moment of innovation became a symbol of how Martinez blends her heritage into her business. Her grandmother ran a successful grocery store in Mexico supporting her seven children through private school. Her dad owned a construction business. Clearly, Martinez has entrepreneurship in her blood and she builds spaces where faith, teamwork, and mentorship brew alongside perfectly steamed lattes.
The Coffee Belt buzzes with energy on Saturday morning. While it looks like your typical coffee shop, there are hints that it has unique leadership. Along with caramel lattes, you find their signature horchata drink made with rice milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk paired with flavorful espresso. This blend reflects Martinez’s Mexican heritage, from her roots in Mexico City and Saltillo Coahuila.
But being a business owner was the furthest thing from her mind as a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where she connected with people at local coffee shops. “In the city there are a ton of coffee shops and places to study and have good conversations.”
During her last year in college, she was counseling high school girls in Muscatine but struggled to find places to meet. “At the time the only place was Starbucks inside Hy Vee.” laughs Martinez recalling those days. “I thought, this is not a good place to have deep meaningful conversations.”
The seed was planted but the journey to opening her own business came slowly. After graduating with a degree in counseling in 2015 and getting married two years later, the time was right. “When I came back home, I got really excited at the thought of making coffee and having a place for community, a place for people to meet.” That’s exactly what The Coffee Belt became.
The birth of her first child brought some changes, but even when she is away from the shop it is on her mind. “One thing you’ll hear from many entrepreneurs is you can leave your business but up here,” she taps her head, “you don’t leave. You’re constantly thinking about it.” But motherhood also inspired her. Martinez began to envision a coffee shop with a playground where moms could spend time with their children outside their homes.
“Out of nowhere Calvary Church called and said, ‘We’re doing a big indoor children’s playground, we would love to have a coffee shop in there.’ I was like wow, that’s exactly what I’m looking for!” It was a perfect union and the conception of her second location.
Photo by Miriam Alarcón Avila / JEFAS Magazine
Social media says you can do it all; own a business, be a great wife and mom. “But they don’t tell you the whole picture,” Martinez warns. “You need a good team to support you.” As a mother of four, including twins born during the opening of the subsequent shop, Martinez emphasizes the importance of a strong support system. She credits her employees and staff who help her maintain work-life balance.
Drawing from her less-than-ideal first job experience, Martinez is committed to creating a positive work environment for her teenage employees. She arms them with valuable skills to serve them the rest of their working years. “My goal is to provide a safe place for young people to work. I give them the tools and experience they will need to move on to the next stage of life. In my business it’s ok to mess up, it gives us a chance to learn how to make it right and be better at our job.”
Just like that first experimental horchata latte – born from necessity and cultural influence – Martinez continues to turn her circumstances into success. “We grow when we leave our comfort zone. I learned what I was capable of.” She says of creating spaces where her community can build connections over coffee. “Watching my parents be leaders and having mentors, I learned that being a leader means serving those you lead.” The Coffee Belt is her contribution to her family’s history of entrepreneurship and service.
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