Cemal Ezel traveled through Vietnam and on his journey, he came across a tea house run by a community of deaf and blind people. He was both intrigued and in awe of the silence, particularly as the tea house’s customers maintained that feeling of quiet out of respect. Because of that visit, Ezel became inspired to start his own social enterprise. With the help of his childhood friend, Richard Robinson, Old Spike was born.

“The guiding principle behind Old Spike is that we offer specialty coffee but are also a social enterprise,” says Robinson. “Our business’ purpose is to help support and train the homeless by offering employment opportunities within our coffee business.”