Shaydyside Coffee and Sips

After working in event coordination in 2019 and as a social worker during the early pandemic, Shayden Hartley wanted to find something new to explore in life. So, combining her love for the outdoors, mental health, and the ingredients we put in our bodies, she left her job and developed a concept for her own coffee truck, Shaydyside Coffee and Sips, in January 2021. 

Hartley then spent the next year and a half working out all the details and logistics. And on July 26th, 2022, she officially launched Shaydyside Coffee Truck outside of For the Love on Main Street in Downtown Las Vegas.

“It was so fun! I just had all my family, friends, and close people there to support me,” she said. “It was like a huge birthday party, but for my coffee truck! 

The Shaydyside Coffee Truck now rolls with a mission of “Creating a space for people to grow… one sip at a time.”

The Shaydyside Menu

The coffee truck serves something for everyone, featuring both traditional and specialty coffees and teas.

Traditional coffees include cafe latte, cappuccino, americano, espresso, and cortados. 

Specialty “Mock-Lattes” and other drinks include:

• ‘The Music Man’ – a peanut butter chocolate latte; 
• ‘Keep It Casual’ – a latte with freshly made vanilla syrup produced locally;
• ‘Garden Latte,’ latte with freshly made rosemary syrup;
• ‘Gentle Activation’ – cacao, coconut milk powder, cardamon, cinnamon, clove, lions mane, ashwagandha, and ginger;
• ‘Theo Bro-Man’ – Ecuadorian cacao, MCT oil, Shilajit, Maca, chicory root, pine pollen;
• ‘Happy Feels’ – Ecuadornia cacao, rose petals, goji berry, turmeric, red beetroot powder, and monk fruit.

In addition to coffee, the truck serves hot and cold teas, including specialty options like Jade’s Recovery–a pistachio matcha latte–and the Earthly Chai Latte, made with cacao powder and rose. 

Adding an extra refreshing set of beverage options, Shaydyside also features mocktails made with fresh syrups paired with mixers. These include drinks like the ‘Pink Lady’ made with sparkling grapefruit juice, freshly made hibiscus syrup, and lime juice. The other is the Floral Spritzer, made with white wine elderflower syrup, pineapple juice, topped with sparkling water. 

Some of Shaydyside’s delicious drinks are available only seasonally, like the caramel apple latte, which Hartley said should return sometime in the fall. She also added that she has a fresh strawberry lemonade and a blueberry orange chia seed lemonade she’s bringing back in the summer, so keep an eye out for those!

In addition, some of her drinks that started seasonally have remained as regular options on the menu, like the peppermint latte and the spiced pear + maple pecan latte.

Where to Find Shaydyside Coffee and Sips

You can find The Shaydyside Coffee Truck at events like First Friday, Market in the Alley, and farmer’s markets throughout the month. The truck even vended at the recent Mint 400. 

This month, the truck will be vending at the following events:

• Fri., May 5th, 5 PM to 11 PM: First Friday Festival in the Arts District
• Sat. May 6th, 10 AM – 3 PM: Arts Festival in Symphony Park 
• Sun., May 14th (Mother’s Day), 8 AM to 2 PM: Outside of Canyon Ridge Church
• Sun., May 21st, 11 AM to 4 PM: Market in the Alley

Shaydyside Coffee Truck is also available for catering and private events. To schedule, call or text 702-343-6367.

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Where Shaydyside Gets Its Ingredients

Hartley shared that she sources all of her ingredients locally. 

“The coffee beans are from Dragonfly Roasters from Henderson,” she said. “I tried a bunch of samples from different roasters, and once I tried this one, I knew I wanted it on my truck! It was the exact taste I was looking for.”

In addition, the syrups are also from a local business, Dress The Drink.

“Manos sought me down and helped me create my mocktail menu and latte ideas,” Hartley explained. “He was so generous with his time and help.” 

The Inspiration for Shaydyside Coffee and Sips

Developing the Idea

Before the pandemic, Hartley worked in event coordination while going to school for hospitality. 

“I wanted to get involved in things like Life is Beautiful and concerts, but when the pandemic hit, I couldn’t do event coordination anymore,” she said. “In January of 2021, I decided I wanted to research event spaces, then thought about a coffee shop plus event space. I watched van-life and coffee shop videos, and the algorithm combined them into a mobile coffee truck idea.” 

Mixing everything with her desire to promote physical and mental health, Shaydyside Coffee Truck was born. After deciding to create the truck, Hartley said that her parents are the inspiration behind much of the idea. 

“I lost my parents at different ages growing up. So I created the business with them behind it. I built on their impact on me and in their memory,” she shared. “My best-selling drink, The Music Man, I named after my dad. He was a musician and artist who was really into health and wellness, so I made the drink with him in mind. And my mom is from India, so I also want to have a drink inspired by her on the menu,”

Without her experiences with her parents growing up, Hartley said she wouldn’t have been able to go through with the business idea. 

“I wouldn’t have the business if not for them,” she said. “They set me up for this.”

Coming Up With The Name

Hartley went into detail about how she developed the name for her coffee truck. While one might assume it’s simply a play on her first name, the meaning is much deeper and stems from a few different meanings.  

“Growing up, my parents had a clothing store called Wildside. So I wanted to play the name off of that along with how my dad grew up in Pittsburgh, and one of the neighborhoods we’d visit was Shadyside,” she explained. “And I wanted to highlight how, even when the sun is out, we all need a place to rest in the shade and collect ourselves.” 

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The Challenges Shayden Hartley Faced Setting Up Her Truck

Hartley had to hit the ground running to start her truck without knowing anything about business. 

“A lot of it was a bit of delusion and running, pulling me towards my goal,” she said. It was like a pole vault, launching herself into something new and exciting. 

“I was excited to learn how to run a business, but I struggled because I was bad at asking for help,” Hartley said. “And if you run a business, you must ask for help 24/7.

From there, she shared that she also struggled with finding help and, specifically, finding trustworthy people to help. 

“There were a lot of learning curves along the way. My biggest struggle is learning to be a mechanic,” she said, laughing a little. Managing a coffee truck means managing unique problems. 

Hartley’s Present Goals 

Looking toward the future, Hartley shared some of her goals for her business. 

“I would love to open a shop at some point,” she said. “Hosting events and having an event space is what I really wanted to do when I first started.”

Moreover, she explained how she’d love to get the ball rolling enough to get more involved with the community. 

“I’d love to work towards having a different organization each month that can donate money to. But, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to dive into that yet fully,” Hartley said. Though, she shared that she previously supported a Southern Nevada Climbing Coalition event held outside of Refuge Climbing. 

“I’m into rock climbing, so I donated 10% of sales to them to help with their cleanups,” she said.

Hartley also talked about how she’d get her team active in the community.

“If I had a full staff, we could have community service days together,” she said. “Which would also build on my goal of growing a great team.” 

Lastly, Hartley spoke about the podcast series she started in 2021 but couldn’t get it off the ground then. 

“In the future, I’d like to restart my podcast again and have conversations with people while drinking coffee,” she said. Listen to her past episodes on Spotify. 

The Best Parts

Talking with Hartley about her experiences throughout her journey, I asked her what coffee represents to her personally. 

“I think it represents a connection with others and yourself. So whether you’re sitting with someone else sharing a cup of coffee, taking a break from everything around you and talking, or you’re by yourself, reading or working and having some coffee, it’s nice to have something with you like a comforting little drink,” Hartley shared. She then jokingly added, “I like to say that’s my emotional support beverage.”

When asked about her favorite part of her work, she said, “Ooh, so much! I love connecting with customers. If I can be the one checking them out, I love talking with them and seeing who they are. I love the human interaction; you learn so much in such a short time.”

Hartley then added that she also truly loves the work parts, too. 

“I feel like there are things I don’t like in the moment that I find I enjoy later, looking back. I don’t love them, but it’s part of the process, and I love how I feel after,” she said. “And I love connecting with all the vendors; it’s like a family. The small business community here is great, and there’s so much genuine human connection.” 

Hartley also loves helping people through her business by providing fresh, healthy drinks.

“I’m serving a product I would drink,” she said. “Being a health freak, I know I’m giving them something good to drink.”

Lessons She’s Learned

From her experience as a business owner, Hartley shared that in addition to learning how to ask for help, one of the biggest things she learned was following her intuition.

“I’m learning so much about who I am,” she said. “There comes the point when you burn out and can’t do anything, where you can’t even people-please. I’ve learned from those deepest moments how to trust people and, most importantly, trust yourself.”

Before starting her business, Hartley said she was an open book and was friends with everyone. Now, she’s much more mindful of her time and energy and has learned to set boundaries. 

“Time is your greatest resource; you must stay true to yourself and give yourself time to recharge,” she said. “You can’t pour from an empty cup. You have to find balance.”

In addition, Hartley also shared that she’s learned that “you have to go with your gut.”

“In the beginning, I bought one truck initially from Tennessee. I knew I didn’t want to buy it, but I had two people in my ear telling me to. When I got home and realized I didn’t want it, I sold it and bought one that was a better option for me,” she said. “Now I’m at the point where it’s not worth it not to listen to my gut about what I needed to do for myself and my business.”

Lastly, Hartley shared that she’s learning it always works out somehow. 

“I feel my biggest thing is that everything works out at some point, and it’s worth it to do what you want to do,” she said.

#GetinMotion With Shaydyside Coffee and Sips

To support the Shaydyside Coffee Truck, follow the business on Facebook and Instagram to learn where to find the truck throughout the month. And learn more about the truck and its menu on the business’s website.

In addition, Hartley said that the best ways to support the truck are for people to post their favorite drinks, come out to the truck to try new drinks and share with others about her business and their experiences with her. 

Don’t forget to visit Shaydyside Coffee Truck at the First Friday Festival tomorrow evening!

And, mention this article the next time you visit to get a special discount on your order – buy one drink, get one half off!

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