Profile
Currently the owner of Copa Vida Café (10 locations) as well as it’s sister roasting company, True Beans Coffee Roasters and it’s parent, HNF & Associates, Steve Chang has been in the Food Service business for over 17 years.He loves the Specialty Coffee world and feels a calling to create community through coffee, tea, and great food.
Steve started Copa Vida as a passion project after helping his family sell their company, Passport Food Group, to Wedbush Capital Partners. While at Passport Food Group, Steve served as the VP of Operations as well as their Director of Product and Business Development. He oversaw the operations of both Wing Hing Foods, a leading Asian noodle manufacturer, as well as Royal Angeles Macaroni, one of the oldest Italian pasta manufacturers in the West Coast. His tenure at Passport taught him much about the food manufacturing and distribution industry but also turned him into a foodie.
Though passionate about the coffee and food industry, Steve began his professional career in the area of mediation and conflict resolution. Having personally experienced the LA Riots in 1992, he felt a responsibility to his community to improve race relations in Los Angeles and served at the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center as well as the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission for 10 years. It was only when an illness in his family called him into the family business that he switched gears to food manufacturing.
Sessions