Klamath Coffee Business Earns SBA Honor

Local owners credit the KCC Small Business Development Center for helping guide their growth from mobile coffee trailer to award-winning rural business

KLAMATH FALLS –Bottom of Form A Klamath Falls business has been named the Portland District SBA Rural Business of the Year, the first such award handed out to a rural business in all of Oregon.

BS Coffee Company was honored at a small ceremony Monday at its location, 417 N. Spring St.

“BS Coffee represents everything this award is meant to honor — resilience, entrepreneurship,  community spirit and the impact a small business can have in a rural community,” Estella Woodley, director of the Klamath Community College Small Business Development Center (SBDC), said.

Carly and Ryan Lynch initially did not plan to open a coffee business after moving to Klamath Falls from Pendleton in 2021.

“We were moving here because I had been offered a job,” Ryan said recently. “But that job fell though just as we were all packed up and ready to move.

Carly is originally from Klamath Falls and Ryan is from Harrisburg, Ore.

But rather than blame their misfortune, the couple decided to renovate a classic-looking trailer and open BS Coffee as a mobile coffee bar.

The idea came from their parent company, Brick & Straw, a home and furniture renovation company.

“We’ve always wanted to be small business owners, so we took the leap,” Carly said.

But the couple did not have much business background, so they reached out to the SBDC to guide them through writing a business plan and seeking financing.

Ryan met with the SBDC weekly to get a business plan written and find financing.

“I come from a hospitality background where I managed 10 hotels over 10 years. But I had never owned my own business,” Ryan said.

Year after year the business grew, and relocated, across Klamath Falls. It is now settled in a converted garage at 417 N. Spring St. Plans are to open two more locations soon, Ryan said.

“Being part of Klamath is pretty phenomenal, because every small business supports other small businesses, and that's what makes it really important,” Carly said.

Ryan also passed on his experience to several of his friends, whom Woodley got on track for them to get various licenses in construction, such as contracting and plumbing.

“SBDC is a big asset that helps give back to the community,” he said, ”It’s been such a blessing.”

Likewise, Woodley said of the couple, “Beyond their business success, what I admire most about BS Coffee is their faith — faith in God and faith in this community. They believe not only that they could succeed, but that success should also create opportunities for others. They are the kind of business owners who genuinely want to see other people succeed, and they have become strong supporters and encouragers of fellow small businesses along the way.”

Joseph Smetak, business opportunity specialist for the Portland SBA, presented the award.

“This is a new award for our National Small Business Week,” Smetak said. “We appreciate everything you do for your community, for rural Oregon and for small businesses across the state.”

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