A converted bus turned coffee shop filled with flowers and aromas of incense is the best new spot to grab a coffee near campus.
Little Lamb, a grab-and-go mobile coffee and ceramics shop, boasts a menu of classics and innovative beverages along with hand-made ceramics for purchase.
“I just wanted to push myself and try something new,” said Ryan Lagassee, the founder and operator of the shop.
Lagassee had this thought and did just that.
The 33-year-old Rhode Island native was working in photo production and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, all of her work was shut down. She said she was struggling in the industry and felt it wasn’t for her.
“I wasn’t cut out for it, and I was struggling with my happiness,” Lagassee said.
She said she wanted to do something that she could see herself happily sustaining for a lifetime.
“I worked in a cafe while attending college at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York City, and ceramics have always brought me so much joy. So I combined the two and put it on wheels,” she said.
Lagassee also said she can see herself doing this forever. She said, “It’s the most me I’ve ever felt.” She loves learning to make new artisanal drinks and providing a little break from one’s day with a beverage. Ever since opening Little Lamb, the once coffee-lover switched her drink to matcha, a change she was not expecting.
“The bus is meant to spread joy. It’s meant to just take a person out of their life, their daily routine, and just give them something to feel different and feel better,” Lagassee said.
That is what she hopes to accomplish with Little Lamb. The coffee shop on wheels is filled with flowers, handmade ceramics, poetry books, art and everything is color coordinated in soft pastels.
With a warm California breeze, ambient instrumental coffee shop jazz music playing overhead, customers browsing mugs and poetry books, sipping on lavender iced lattes and nibbling on pastries, the bus truly is a sweet escape. Customers can experience this sweet escape in the form of life’s simple pleasures such as coffee and a scone. Customer Daniella Echeverria said that just walking by Little Lamb, seeing the flowers and ceramics, and hearing the music instantly put her in a good mood and put a smile on her face.
Lagassee prides herself on being woman-owned. It was a top priority of hers to get the official Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification. Having the certification has a special place in her heart. She says that people see the sign and are eager and happy to support a woman-owned business. Having the official certification has also been helpful for her sales.
“I just feel like male energy dominates so many industries, and certainly in food trucks that’s true,” Lagassee said.
It wasn’t easy for her when it came to communicating with men as a female business owner; she said, “They communicate very differently than I do as a soft, feminine woman.” Because of this challenge, she is very supportive and proud of women who take that step to “really push boundaries and own their own business and do something hard.”
Little Lamb’s wheels were officially off the ground starting on September 18, 2022. “I had no idea what I was doing and I still don’t,” Lagassee said.
Her advice for anyone who wants to start a business and be their own boss? “Just think of it as one step at a time and you will figure it out. You break it down and before you know it, your whole life is changed and you’re running your own business and you feel very gratified,” Lagassee said.
Lagassee and her bus travel Los Angeles and recently began to stop shop near the USC Village in early February. She visits the Village at least once a week to serve students some sips and sweets. Customer and USC student Kelly Ash who ordered an iced mocha cacao described her coffee as “a hug in a cup.”
Through her drinks, Lagassee is accomplishing her goal of taking customers out of their day and giving them a little bit of joy.