VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — There's usually a story behind the start of every company, no matter its size.
That holds true for veteran-owned businesses, as well.
Seven percent of businesses in Hampton Roads are owned by veterans. That's nearly three times the national average, according to Old Dominion University's Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.
Stephanie Wein is the founder and head roaster of Pinup Coffee Co., based in Virginia Beach. Since she was a teenager, it had been her dream to own a company like this.
It wouldn't be until she was in the U.S. Navy that she teamed up with her husband, Bryce, to brew that dream into a reality in Hampton Roads.
"We were both air crewmen, so we flew in helicopters," Stephanie said. "You make yourself so stinking busy because you've got to fly, you've got duty, you've got military service. Then, in all of your free time, it is all going in this one thing."
Their story of service is woven into their brand.
"So for everyone here, we kind of call them the 'pinup crew,' Stephanie said. "And that also kind of came from aviation. You work as a crew to get things done, to accomplish tasks."
It was more toward the traditional American pinup girl style, but they changed it to be more aligned with aviation.
"Our blends are also named after pinup art on World War II aircraft. So Slightly Dangerous was an aircraft, Rash and Passion was an aircraft," she said.
Bryce says the brand also conveys a sense of determination.
"Flying by day, coming home, she was roasting, we were packaging on the weekends. We were doing farmers' markets. We were enticing people to buy coffee by getting Krispy Kreme donuts, and, you know, you get a bag of coffee. And so we were driving around all over Hampton Roads, just to try to get things started. And then eventually it spiraled into this thing."
After developing the brand and opening their roastery near London Bridge Road, they opened a cafe in 2024 at Back Bay Farmhouse off Kempsville Road in Virginia Beach.
Bryce told News 3's Jay Greene what he and Stephanie learned in the U.S. Navy translated well to owning a business.
"We understood the value of hard work and what it took to get things accomplished," Bryce said.
And there came a period of adjustment and learning how to run a business.
"Becoming your own accountant is really important," Bryce said. "There's no days off, you know, it's like a kid, you look away from the kid for five minutes, you don't feed it for a day, and you're in big trouble."
He also said it's important to understand what a customer wants.
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Stephanie and Bryce encourage other veterans to start their own businesses, and there is help available. They say to find mentors, whether they are family or friends, and visit the Veteran Outreach Center.
"One of the things that I did that I'm really, really glad that I did, was I got ahead on educating myself on things. So I started educating myself on little things like taxes, accounting, payroll and hiring. Because that is very, very confusing if you've never worked in HR before or been a manager that hires and fires. So I started learning all of that really early," Stephanie said.
As veterans, Stephanie and Bryce said this business is everything to them. Supporting a veteran-owned business is validation.
"Because they're probably really worried sometimes. 'Should I just go work a 9 to 5 and do something like this, this, that and the other?' It's really confirming that they are doing the right things in life, too."
The Wein's also utilize a skill bridge program which helps other military members transition to a job outside of the service. That way they can see what it's like to work for a small business.
Above all, the mission is to help you find the perfect cup of coffee.
"The goal is for you to leave here with a coffee that you fall in love with," Stephanie said.
