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Angela Austin is the owner of Milk & Pull, a New York cafe with locations in Bed-Stuy, Bushwick and Ridgewood.
Austin owns Milk & Pull with her husband Joe. The two got the idea for the cafe when they had just started dating. They’d sit around Angela’s mother’s kitchen table and come up with business plans. One reason Angela loves coffee is that, in her family, events have always centered around the caffeinated beverage. Coffee provides the chance for people to connect, network and build a community, says the NY business owner. That sense of community is what inspired Milk & Pull. The Austins wanted to create a place where they could feel comfortable. “We wanted to create a space for us.”
The original business plan for Milk & Pull only involved one coffee shop. But Angela says the additional locations just seemed to find them, so the business continued to grow. “Whatever the universe presents to us, we just take it and run with it,” says Angela.
There were plenty of naysayers in the beginning. They said that the Austins couldn’t open a business while having their first child, without investors and while having other full-time jobs. They just didn’t let that negativity get to them.
If she could speak to her childhood self, Angela says she’d be excited that she’s living out the make-believe games she played with Barbies as a kid. She always wanted to be a businesswoman and always admired strong women.
The Milk & Pull cafes offer an assortment of coffees, organic teas, sandwiches and baked goods including vegetarian and gluten-free options. You can also buy bulk coffee from their website including their Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Single Origin and The Blueprint Blend. “To extract the perfect notes, to pull the perfect shot and to bring more joy in each cup,” is the company’s goal, according to their website.
