Kat McIver ’07
believes in following her dreams. So when she and partner Angie Evans developed their “pop-up coffee shop” at farmers’ markets around Long Beach, Calif., the couple embraced the adventure.

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McIver, serving up some of her homemade pastries. Photo by Asia Morris, Long Beach Post.

Wide Eyes Open Palms, a name as intriguing as the locally sourced coffee and handmade pastries they serve, originally started as their “side project” to jobs in service and management industries. That changed when their venture gained widespread popularity.

McIver is the chef and Evans the barista. Together they create a food-and-beverage alchemy featuring everything from Paleo chocolate-coconut cupcakes and organic hibiscus-lavender-agave tea to a host of specialty coffees.

“I make every single pastry from scratch and bake it before each market,” McIver said.

She credits much of her business acumen to Chapman University, where she earned a degree in political science. Her advice to budding entrepreneurs: “Get as much experience as possible within your field in someone else’s business. And start saving. One of my Chapman business counselors told me from the get-go that it’s important to have some skin in the game.”

McIver and Evans intend to use their success to fuel a brick-and-mortar shop in Long Beach.

“Follow your heart and don’t be afraid of making a career out of your deepest passions,” McIver advised. “We did.”

Photo credit for featured image: Long Beach Press Telegram

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